Effects of Laughter Yoga on Premenstrual Symptoms.

Context: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is associated with a group of emotional, behavioral, and somatic symptoms that occur during the menstrual cycle. Laughter yoga involves a combination of laughter exercises and breathing techniques derived from more traditional yoga practice. No previous studies have examined the effects of laughter yoga on the symptoms of PMS. Objective: The study intended to assess the effectiveness of laughter yoga in coping with the premenstrual symptoms of women. Design: The research team performed a pretest and posttest, quasi-experimental study. Setting: The study took place in the nursing and midwifery departments at Marmara University, a state university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Participants: Participants were 80 female students in those departments at the university between February 2019 and May 2020 who had PMS. Intervention: The research team divided participants into two groups based on their departments: (1) an intervention group, the laughter yoga group, with 32 participants who took part in a twice-weekly laughter yoga program that included a weekly 30-min group session consisting of laughter and deep breathing, and (2) a control group with 48 participants. Outcome Measures: The research team collected the data using the Demographic and Descriptive Information Form (DDIF), Premenstrual Syndrome Symptom Scale (PMSS), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: Between baseline and postintervention, the laughter yoga group's mean scores for the PMSS subdimensions depressive affection (P = .00), anxiety (P = .04), fatigue (P = .00), irritability (P = .01), depressive thoughts (P = .03), pain (P = .002), changes in sleep (P = .004), and bloating (P = .001) significantly decreased. The laughter yoga group's scores for fatigue (P = .03) and pain (P = .001) were significantly lower than those of the control group postintervention. Conclusions: Laughter yoga is a noninvasive complementary therapy that clinicians can use to reduce the PMS symptoms.

Syrian refugees' experiences while receiving mental health services and psychiatric nursing care: A qualitative study.

AIM: This study examined the experiences of Syrian refugees in a community centre in Turkiye as they access mental health services and receive psychiatric nursing care. DESIGN: A qualitative design was adopted in the study. METHODS: Data were collected from southern Turkiye between November and December 2021. The researchers conducted three semi-structured focus group interviews. Colaizzi's phenomenological method was followed to analyse the qualitative data. A total of 19 Syrian refugees participated in the focus group interviews. RESULTS: Three key themes related to immigrants' experiences of receiving mental health services and nursing care were identified: barriers to receiving mental health services, coping with negative experiences in Turkiye and satisfaction with mental health services. The participants identified the barriers they experienced while receiving health services as those pertaining to language, discrimination and stigmatization. They also mentioned the methods of coping with these negative experiences in Turkiye. Despite their negative experiences, they expressed satisfaction with the mental health services they received, especially psychiatric nursing care. CONCLUSIONS: This study determined that Syrian refugees face barriers in accessing and receiving mental health services. They stated that mental health professionals in Turkiye approach them with empathy, particularly those in psychiatric nursing. Healthcare professionals may be trained in culturally sensitive care to increase awareness. IMPACT: Studies have frequently examined the experiences of nurses providing care to refugees, but few have focused on evaluating nursing care from the perspective of refugees. Syrian refugees have reported various obstacles in accessing and receiving mental healthcare services. Health professionals, especially psychiatric nurses in mental health psychosocial support centres, must facilitate the processes to eliminate these obstacles. REPORTING METHOD: The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) were used. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public involvement.