Effectiveness of the Program of Enhancing the Imagination by Use of a Mobile App on Easing Nursing-Student Stress Loads

Stress constitutes an obstacle to problem-solving and decision-making skills, particularly among nursing students. Most of their coursework is essential for their entry into the practice of nursing and gaining access to their patients. Stress management through the enhancement of imagination, coupled with a cognitive and behavioral-therapy program using a mobile-phone application, are at the core of the present study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a stress management technique in enhancing the imagination of nursing students through the use of a mobile app on easing their stress loads.

The present study is an experimental research and involves 54 nursing students, subdivided into two groups using the repeated measures design. It consists of pre-experimentation, where their imagination enhancement is focused on the topic of stress relief. The nursing students practice the enhancement exercises on their own for approximately 10 minutes each time and every day for 14 days, with an immediate post-experiment and a two-week post-experiment follow-up. The two groups involved were the group whose members used the program for enhancing their imagination through the use of a mobile app, and the group whose members were counseled by their instructors through a stress-assessment device known as the Thai Stress Test.

The results were based on the measurements of stress that was induced by negative thought anxiety during three time frames: (1) prior to entering the program; (2) at the conclusion of the program; and (3) two weeks after the program conclusion. It was found that the average stress values of the two groups at each of these times differed with a statistical significance of 0.05. In time frame (2), the combined score of the control group was higher than that of the experimental group; and in the experimental group, stress levels decreased after using the enhancing techniques shown in the imagination app.

The application of the technology used in this study in the imagination-enhancement program for stress reduction was found to be appropriate for the context of the target group, whose members were in their adolescence. It proved to be a method of easing their stress, unlimited by either time or place. As a result, the program can be effectively used to reduce the stress burden borne by students.