An Enhanced 4A‑Based Stress‑Management Intervention for Nursing Students: A Randomized Controlled Comparison With a...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Psychology
• Health Sciences

Background:

• Nursing students face significant clinical stress, impacting learning and professional development.
• Effective stress management is crucial for nursing student well-being and competence.
• Structured interventions may mitigate negative effects of clinical stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• Compare an adapted 4A-based stress management intervention with a mobile self-help program.
• Evaluate effects on clinical stress, clinical self-efficacy, and professional identity in nursing students.
• Determine the most effective stress-management approach for nursing education.

Main Methods:

• Parallel randomized controlled trial with 105 undergraduate nursing students.
• Intervention groups: 5-week in-person 4A-based program (peer-teaching) vs. 5-week mobile self-help program.
• Outcomes assessed at baseline and 4 weeks post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The 4A-based intervention showed greater reductions in clinical stress.
• Higher clinical self-efficacy was observed in the 4A-based intervention group post-test.
• Neither intervention significantly improved professional identity.

Conclusions:

• The adapted 4A-based intervention is more effective than the mobile self-help program for managing nursing student stress.
• Facilitator-led, structured stress management training is valuable in nursing education.
• Further research may explore enhancing professional identity development within interventions.