Exploring the Effects of a Yoga Intervention on Stress and Coping Self-Efficacy on People Living With HIV: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a serious challenge to public health. Stress is a primary issue affecting HIV care because it is highly prevalent among people living with HIV and negatively affects quality of life in this population. PURPOSE: This study was designed to examine the efficacy of a yoga intervention in reducing stress and enhancing coping self-efficacy in people with HIV. METHODS: A parallel-group, randomized controlled trial with single blinding and repeated measures was used. The intervention group engaged at home in eight biweekly online Hatha yoga classes of 120 min (two 60-min sessions) in length. The effects were assessed at baseline, at the end of the 2-month intervention, and at 1 month after the end of the intervention. RESULTS: Sixty-six people were enrolled as participants, five of whom were lost to follow-up at the second assessment. Sixty-one participants took part in the third assessment. After practicing yoga for 8 weeks, the intervention group had lower mean stress scores and higher mean coping self-efficacy scores than the control group. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The yoga intervention applied in this study was shown to effectively reduce perceived stress and strengthen coping self-efficacy in patients with HIV. This study adds evidence gathered in a new social context (Bali, Indonesia) to existing research showing practicing yoga to be effective in reducing stress in patients with HIV. Yoga is a promising complementary intervention that may be offered to patients with HIV suffering from stress.