Critical Appraisal of Evidence on Yoga Intervention for PTSD Symptoms

This critique paper examines a qualitative descriptive study on the use of yoga intervention for patients with PTSD symptoms. The study findings are analyzed to determine the presence of high-quality evidence to support the use of yoga as a complementary approach to treating PTSD symptoms. The study's authorship, research aim, design, and methods are evaluated, and the study's limitations and conclusions are discussed. The paper concludes that yoga treatment is a comprehensive self-care tool that is most appropriate in addressing PTSD symptoms.

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Title page
Student Name:
HLSC122 Semester 2, 2018
Assessment 3: Critical appraisal of evidence
Word count: 1,272
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Jindani, F. A., & Khalsa, G. F. S. (2015). A yoga intervention program for patients suffering
from symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: A qualitative descriptive study. The
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 21(7), 401-408.
Introduction
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a health issue that is caused by exposure to traumatic
events. The individuals diagnosed with PTSD suffer from physiological and psychological
distress (Javidi & Yadollahie, 2012, p. 3). Controversies exist on which is the best treatment
method between exposure therapies and the use of complementary methods to address PTSD
symptoms. The objective of this critique paper is to appraise the qualitative descriptive study by
Jindani and Khalsa (2015) to ascertain the presence of any high-quality evidence that affirms the
use of yoga treatment as a complementary approach to treating adults with PTSD symptoms. The
evidence is to be used as a basis for convincing Tessor to undertake yoga treatment to alleviate
him of PTSD symptoms.
Body
PART A
Authorship
The authors of the article are Farah Jindani and Khalsa with Ph.D. and BA qualifications
respectively. A doctorate qualification in healthcare is an acknowledgment of being an expert or
consultant in the field of health. This implies that the study findings are professional and
inferences made can be relied upon.
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Additionally, Jindani who is a Ph.D. holder can influence healthcare policy and procedure. This
makes the findings and recommendations more reliable to different stakeholders of interest.
JIndani is also affiliated to the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health, Canada; an exposure
which enables the author to be updated with the current issues related to mental health even
though he doesn’t have professional certification qualification which is essential in the provision
of healthcare services. Khaisa is a BA holder affiliated to the University of Toronto Multi-Faith
Centre for Spiritual Study and practice, Canada. Bachelor’s qualification is not regarded as an
expert in any field, and this limits her knowledge about the topic under investigation. However,
the affiliation with the University of Toronto provides him with the necessary expertise needful
for the research.
Since both authors are addressing a research that is relevant to their institutions of affiliation,
they may be reluctant or biased in their approach especially if an issue affects the institutions.
Research Aim
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is attributed to psychological and physiological distress.
An effective treatment for this disorder has however not been adequately addressed. Studies have
shown that exposure therapies usually used for the treatment of PTSD worsen the situation
resulting in trauma-related body sensations and an awakening of implicit memories (Cloitre et
al., 2010, p. 915). A study by Rauch et al. (2009) found out that exposure therapies reduce the
symptoms of PTSD but do not improve the overall health, social, and job-related functioning of
the patient. This has necessitated the need for complementary treatments that focus on both body
and mind. Studies have demonstrated yoga as the best complimentary treatment in primary
health care as it deals with both body and mind (Köhn, Persson Lundholm, Bryngelsson,
Anderzén-Carlsson, & Westerdahl, 2013; Van der Kolk et al., 2014). However, no study has
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examined the experiences of yoga treatment for PTSD patients, and hence this study aims at
exploring the experiences of individuals with PTSD symptoms who are undergoing yoga
treatment.
Research Design
The study adopted a qualitative descriptive study. This is an observational study which describes
the occurrence of disease patterns in association with variables such as persons, time and
location. A qualitative descriptive approach involves the observation of subjects in a natural and
unchanged environment. Neergaard, Olesen, Andersen, and Sondergaard (2009, p.2) observes
that the method is most appropriate when ascertaining the where who and what of a phenomenon
and when obtaining information from subjects about an aspect that is not adequately understood.
This, therefore, makes a qualitative descriptive approach the most appropriate for the study
which is aimed at examining the actual experiences of subjects with PTSD symptoms to
ascertain whether yoga treatment is the most appropriate complementary treatment of PTSD
symptoms.
Research Methods
The authors used posters, online bulletin, and advertisements to recruit prospective participants.
Posters are significant because they can reach a large group of people within a short time.
However, their effectiveness is dependent on the initial encounter with the people, which also
determines their response. An online bulletin is most appropriate in reaching a wide population
range, but it is limited to those who have internet access only (Bartneck, Duenser, Moltchanova,
& Zawieska, 2015, p.10).
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Data collection methods included audio-recorded telephone and semi-structured interviews.
Audio recordings enhanced data immersion and the closeness of the authors with the data
alongside increasing transcription accuracy due to the aspect of reading and re-reading.
Telephone interviews enable simultaneous data collection and provide actual information from
the respondent. However, the reliability of the data gathered is affected and depends on the mood
status of both the interviewer and interviewee (Novick, 2008, p. 395).
Data analysis was done using qualitative thematic analysis and Inductive thematic analysis. The
qualitative thematic analysis enabled the researcher to obtain more information about the topic
with which little is known. The use of inductive thematic analysis provided the authors with an
insight into the opinions or experiences of the respondents of the yoga program (Braun & Clarke,
2014, p. 1).
Results and Study Limitations
Yoga treatment programme produced changes in aspects of health, lifestyle, welfare, views of
self-regarding the world, and psychosocial integration. Yoga treatment is an alternative approach
to the treatment of trauma and addresses the primary components of PTSD such as mind and
body.
The eight-week classes of the yoga programme required individual motivation of the participants
to ensure its success. The lack of the personal motivation discouraged others from completing
the exercise upon which the findings were dependent on.
PART B
The findings from the study by Jindani and Khalsa (2015) are authentic and reliable for various
reasons, and hence I would apply them to the clinical practice in the scenario of Tasso. The study
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findings are based on the real experiences of 40 adult men with PTSD symptoms. This validates
the practicality of the inferences made from the study on the effectiveness of yoga treatment in
the case of Tasso. Additionally, the authors have used standardized methods and instruments for
data collection and analysis. This reduces any possibility of bias which can be caused by the
manipulation of analysis outcomes by the researchers (Pannucci & Wilkins, 2010, p. 2).
Transcription accuracy was increased through reading and re-reading of the recordings, which
further increases the credibility of the findings. The study found out that yoga treatment is an
appropriate self-care tool that is significant in alleviation from PTSD symptoms, and the skills
can be learned by individuals and individually implemented at home when one is under stress.
Moreover, the authors found out that yoga treatment improves ones social, job-related
functioning, and social aspects besides reducing PTSD symptoms (Jindani & Khalsa, 2015, p.
406). These findings justify the application of the information from the study in the given
scenario and to the clinical question.
Conclusions
The debate on the most appropriate approach in the treatment of PTSD symptoms has led to the
increase in the studies focused on examining the best procedure between complementary and
exposure treatment. Studies show that exposure treatment is crucial because it reduces PTSD
symptoms, however, it is contraindicated for survivors who end up having experiences
associated with trauma. Other studies have also demonstrated that body-mind interventions are
best suited for individuals with disorders related to stress and mental illness. Furthermore, this
study evidently shows that yoga is an approach treatment that is a self-care tool that is
comprehensive and is most appropriate in addressing PTSD symptoms because it leads to an
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improvement in the health, social, and job-related functioning besides reducing PTSD symptoms.
This, therefore, makes yoga treatment the best approach in the case of Tassor
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References
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Jindani, F. A., & Khalsa, G. F. S. (2015). A yoga intervention program for patients suffering
from symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: A qualitative descriptive study. The
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 21(7), 401-408.
Köhn, M., Persson Lundholm, U., Bryngelsson, I. L., Anderzén-Carlsson, A., & Westerdahl,
E. (2013). Medical yoga for patients with stress-related symptoms and diagnoses in
primary health care: a randomized controlled trial. Evidence-Based Complementary and
Alternative Medicine, 2013. Retrieved from
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responses received from studies in Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to studies conducted
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Van der Kolk, B. A., Stone, L., West, J., Rhodes, A., Emerson, D., Suvak, M., & Spinazzola,
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J. (2014). Yoga as an adjunctive treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder: a randomized
controlled trial. J Clin Psychiatry, 75(6), e559-65. Retrieved from
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