A pilot project to evaluate efficacy of yoga intervention for stress, anxiety and depression among healthcare professionals working in a frontline COVID-19 tertiary care hospital of New Delhi

This is a pilot feasibility study for health care professionals (HCP) with psychiatric symptoms, working in a frontline COVID-19 tertiary care treatment centre. Target symptoms will include sleep disturbance, and symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.Healthcare professionals in frontline areas faced heavy stress load during the lockdown. The stress of working in the health care field leads to anxiety and depression as well as problems in sleep due to shift duties. Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has been a frontline treatment center for every epidemic as well as for COVID-19 outbreak since January 2020. Non-pharmacological management like yoga-meditation would provide some innovative solutions, scientiï¬cally recognized as effective methods to enhance quality of sleep, reduce stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms and improve physical work-related issues in healthcare professionals in such circumstances. Studies also reported the positive effect of yoga on body immunity. In this background we propose to investigate role of yoga training among doctors, nurses and paramedical health care professionalsof Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences & Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital who consent to participate in the study.

The aim of this study is to assess level of recent perceived stress, quality of sleep, symptoms of anxiety and depression among HCP during COVID-19 outbreak and to evaluate the effect of a 21 day protocolized yoga intervention. This will be a pilot study with pre and post evaluation among 50 HCP who score above the cut-off on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-60) at screening. The yoga intervention will last for three weeks (five days a week, for 60 minutes). A battery of psychological tests will be administered at baseline before training, and 4th and 8th week of post training. Data including physical, physiological and biochemical parameters will analysed with appropriate statistical application. We will also interview our participants to obtain their views of the benefits, drawbacks if any, and suggestions about yoga training.

Along with detailed socio-demographic information, all those who provide consent will be assessed at baseline on Global Assessment of Recent Stress scale(GARS), Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), HAM-A and HAM-D to check level of stress, quality of sleep, anxiety and depression respectively. The intervention will last for three weeks, five days a week, for one hour daily. All participants will be again assessed on GARS, PSQI, HAM-A and HAM-D within seven days of completion of yoga intervention. This will be their first post intervention assessment. Participants will be advised to continue their yoga practice learned in these sessions at their home regularly for the next one month. They will be re-assessed on all the parameters after one more month (second post intervention assessment) to evaluate the sustainability of effect of yoga on psychological, physiological and biochemical components.