The Effect of Breathing Exercises on Compassion Fatigue and Work Tress Among Emergency Department Nurses

March 23, 2026 updated by: Betül Akgün Erol, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

The Effect of Breathing Exercises on Compassion Fatigue and Work Stress Among Emergency Department Nurses: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The purpose of this randomized controlled study is to examine the effect of breathing exercises on compassion fatigue and work stress among emergency department nurses

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

"This study will be conducted with nurses working in the emergency department. Participants will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving breathing exercise training or a control group. Data will be collected using a sociodemographic data form and validated scales measuring work stress and compassion fatigue. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of breathing exercises on work stress and compassion fatigue levels among emergency department nurses."

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

64

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Currently employed as an emergency department nurse.
  • No diagnosed psychiatric disorders.
  • No prior participation in breathing exercise programs.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of respiratory system disease.
  • Physical conditions that prevent participation in breathing exercises.
  • Working outside the emergency department.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Breathing exercise group
32 nurses randomly assigned to the experimental group will receive breathing exercise training. Pre-test and post-test will be conducted to measure compassion fatigue and job stress.
Behavioral: Breathing Exercise Training
Participants in the experimental group will receive training on proper breathing techniques and breathing exercise methods. Each session will last 30-40 minutes. Sessions will be conducted twice a week for a total of 4 weeks.
Other: control group
32 nurses randomly assigned to the control group will not receive breathing exercise training. Pre-test and post-test will be conducted to measure compassion fatigue and job stress.
Other: usual care
No intervention will be applied. Participants in the control group will continue their usual routine.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Compassion Fatigue Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks

The level of compassion fatigue among emergency department nurses will be assessed using the Compassion Fatigue Scale, a Likert-type instrument ranging from 1 ("Never") to 10 ("Very Often"). The scale includes two subdimensions: secondary traumatic stress and occupational burnout. Items C, E, H, K, and L assess secondary traumatic stress, while items A, B, D, F, G, I, and M assess occupational burnout.

Total scores range from 13 to 130, with higher scores indicating greater levels of compassion fatigue.
Baseline and 8 weeks
Work Stress Score
Time Frame: Baseline and 4 weeks after ınvertıon
Work-related stress among emergency nurses will be measured with the 34-item Nurse Work Stress Scale . The scale has seven subdimensions: uncertainty concerning treatment (items 1-8), workload (items 9-14), patient death (items 15-19), conflict with physicians (items 20-24), conflict with other nurses (items 25-29), inadequate support (items 30-32), and suffering patient (items 33-34). Items are scored on a 4-point Likert scale (1=Never, 2=Sometimes, 3=Often, 4=Very Often). Subdimension reliability ranges from α=0.65 to α=0.89. Total scores are summed; higher scores indicate higher work-related stress.
Baseline and 4 weeks after ınvertıon

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: gülnur A akkaya, Çanakkale onsekiz mart universty

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

April 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

January 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 21, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

January 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 23, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CanakkaleOMU-SBF-BAE-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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