THE EFFECT OF AEROBIC EXERCISE (STRETCHING EXERCISE) ON THE FATIGUE SEVERITY OF NURSES IN NICU

Nurses face high level of fatigue due to work environment and industrial life. Researchers are interested to investigate about fatigue and its effects on nurses. The aim of present study is assessing the effect of aerobic exercise (stretching exercise) on the fatigue severity of nurses working in NICU. This is a single group before and after quasi -experimental research. Fifty nurses were selected from NICU in the hospitals affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. The instruments for data collection included: "Demographic questionnaire," "Fatigue Severity Scale", and "stretching exercises daily checklist record". Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS (version 20), and repeated measures analysis. Benferroni post hoc test was used to compare mean fatigue severity, and Turkey's post hoc test used for comparing mean intergroup fatigue severity. The n urses’ fatigue severity before exercise was 6.45. Mean percentage of fatigue decrease after four weeks exercise was 5.02%, and after 8 weeks it was 6.93%. The difference was significant statistically (p<0.05). According to the finding, aerobic exercise (stretching exercise) decreases the nurses’ fatigue in NICUs. So it is proposed as a strategy for reduction of nurses’ fatigue severity in NICUs.