Effect of Ramadan fasting on emotional reactions in nurses

Abstract

Background: Today anxiety, depression, and stress are among the fundamental problems, and nursing due to ongoing relationships with patients is one of the stressful jobs. The present study has been carried out to investigate the effect of fasting on emotional reactions among nurses in selected hospitals of Tehran.

Materials and Methods: In a descriptive analytical study, 313 nurses working nurses of selected hospitals in Iran with the mean age of 37.82 ± 7.17 years were sampled with randomized cluster sampling method from two selected hospitals, and level of their emotional reactions was assessed by DASS21 questionnaire in two stages over 1-2 weeks before and after Ramadan. Then, using the statistical software SPSS15 and with Wilcoxon and paired t‑test, data were analyzed.

Results: The findings showed that depression and stress levels were significantly reduced after in comparison with before the holy month (P < 0.05). Despite the reduction of anxiety level in fasting caregivers after Ramadan, the difference was not significant.

Conclusions: Fasting has been effective in diminishing stress and depression levels among nurses.

Key words: Anxiety, depression, fasting, nurses, stress