| Abstrakt: |
This study examined the effect of guided imagery upon the anxiety of baccalaureate nursing students learning to perform their first injections. The quasi-experimental post test design used a treatment (imagery) group and a control group of subjects who were first semester undergraduate students. Anxiety was measured by State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Biodot stress dots, performance time, and performance score. Analyses of covariance were performed on the post treatment STAI scores, performance times, and performance scores. A Kruskal-Wallis was performed on post treatment Biodot stress dot reading. Results indicated statistically significant lower anxiety levels by self-report (STAI), p = .008, in the experimental group. No statistically significant differences were found in the Biodot stress dot readings, p = .6777, performance times, p = .130, or performance scores, p = .774. The significance of the findings is that if guided imagery reduces self-reported anxiety levels in nursing students, introduction of this teaching strategy early in the curriculum may be beneficial to students. |
