Lauren Danford
A Look at Stress Reduction Outcomes Using
Poetry Therapy on Geriatric Patients
SchoolWilloughby South High School • Willoughby, Ohio
ProgramNursing Internship
MentorLynn Szoka, RN, MSN
DepartmentMedical/Surgical Nursing, Hillcrest Hospital
- Research
- A Look at Stress Reduction Outcomes Using Poetry Therapy on Geriatric Patients
- Hypothesis
- Stress is defined as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in certain situations. The body’s natural physiological responses to stress includes heart rate increase, muscle tension, and blood pressure increase. This research study assessed whether poetry therapy can reduce a patient’s stress. We hypothesized that reading poetry to patients would decrease both their stress level and blood pressure.
- Methodology
- Blood pressure readings and a Likert-type scale were used to evaluate patients’ sense of stress reduction before and after poetry readings. A subjective questionnaire was administered for patients to self-evaluate their stress levels for comparison with the objective blood pressure measurements. The data were analyzed to determine relationships between poetry reading and reductions of stress level and blood pressure.
- Outcomes
- Seven of the forty patients’ blood pressures decreased with poetry therapy. The systolic BP decreased an average of 4.4 points and the diastolic 1.5 points. The patients’ self-evaluated stress level decreased an average of 0.3. Overall, the experiment showed great promise for the field of poetry therapy in reducing blood pressure and stress. Reading poetry to patients is a great way to enhance the patient experience.
