Summary of findings 2. Relaxation compared to no intervention (SMD) for reducing stress.
| Relaxation compared to no intervention (SMD) for | ||||||
| Patient or population: Healthcare workers Settings: Health care Intervention: Relaxation Comparison: No intervention (SMD) | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | No of Participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| no intervention (SMD) | Relaxation | |||||
| Stress 1 month | The median stress level across all control groups across all follow‐up times was 22.17 points on the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory¹ | The mean stress at 1 month in the intervention groups was 2.14 points lower (0.36 to 3.96 lower). | SMD ‐0.48 (‐0.89 to ‐0.08) | 97 (4 studies) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low |
This meta‐analysis was back transformed to the EE subscale of the MBI by using the median SD of the EE scale across control groups. |
| Stress 1 ‐ 6 months | The median stress level across all control groups across all follow‐up times was 22.17 points on the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory¹ | The mean stress at 1 ‐ 6 months in the intervention groups was 4.84 points lower (2.37 to 6.92 lower). | SMD ‐0.49 (‐0.78 to ‐0.21) | 521 (12 studies) | ⊕⊕⊕⊝ moderate |
This meta‐analysis was back transformed to the EE subscale of the MBI by using the median SD of the EE scale across control groups. |
| Stress > 6 months | The median stress level across all control groups across all follow‐up times was 22.17 points on the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the Maslach Burnout Inventory¹ | The mean stress at > 6 months in the intervention groups was 5.67 points lower (3.39 to 7.95 lower). | SMD ‐1.89 (‐2.65 to ‐1.13) | 40 (1 study) | ⊕⊕⊝⊝ low |
This result was back transformed to the EE subscale of the MBI by using the median SD of the EE scale across control groups. |
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. the median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI). CI: Confidence interval; | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect. Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate. Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate. Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate. | ||||||
1 This was the median from the control groups of all studies that measured the effect of relaxation vs. no intervention on Emotional Exhaustion with the same scale.