THE EFFECTS OF AN INTERACTIONAL SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM ON THE ANXIETY LEVEL OF NURSES WORKING WITH TERMINAL PATIENTS (DEATH, DYING, CARE, COMMUNICATION).
Contributors: University of Wisconsin--Madison.
Published: 1984
Number of pages: 184
Subjects: Education, Guidance and Counseling.
Description: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an Interactional Skills Training Program (IST) on the anxiety levels of terminal care nurses in relation to a Death and Dying Discussion Workshop. More specifically, two questions were addressed: (a) Can the anxiety levels of terminal care nurses be influenced through IST? and (b) Is the IST Program a more effective intervention than a Death and Dying Discussion format for reducing anxiety?.

The sample consisted of 14 matched-paired female nurses from the Visiting Nurse Service (VNS) in Madison, Wisconsin. Participation was voluntary and subjects were blind to the hypotheses and nature of the investigation.

Two supervisors from the VNS were selected to rank-order the subjects from low to high anxiety based on supervisor's perceptions of anxiety levels. Subjects were then matched on anxiety levels and randomly assigned to either the experimental or active control group. The Spielberger State Anxiety Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used to ascertain post-intervention anxiety levels and demographic data was obtained through a personal data form.

The IST Program was a didactic-experiential process where specific cognitively-learned coping skills were emphasized. The Death and Dying Workshop was a trainer-facilitated self-exploration process dealing with death and dying. Both treatments were based on Bandura's (1977) and Goldfried's (1973) cognitive mediational models which focus on a self-control and self-competency explanation for the mediation of anxiety. Both training sessions lasted 5 weeks and were 75 minutes in length.

The Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Test was used to determine whether differences existed between scores collected on the matched-paired subjects. There were seven planned, directional hypotheses set up in favor of the IST Program. Significance at the .05 level was not obtained for any of the hypotheses. It was concluded that the IST Program is not a more potent procedure than the Death and Dying Workshop for the reduction of anxiety in terminal care nurses. This experiment was limited by subject attrition and design. Replication is suggested utilizing non-directional hypotheses and the implementation of a Solomon Four Group Design.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-06, Section: A, page: 1518.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON, 1984.

School code: 0262.