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

## TL;DR

A yoga program reduced stress and improved coping in people with HIV in Bali, Indonesia.

## Contribution

This study provides new evidence from Bali, Indonesia, on yoga's effectiveness in reducing stress among people with HIV.

## Key findings

- The yoga group had lower stress scores after 8 weeks compared to the control group.
- Participants in the yoga group showed higher coping self-efficacy scores.
- Effects were maintained one month after the intervention ended.

## Abstract

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.

This study was designed to examine the efficacy of a yoga intervention in reducing stress and enhancing coping self-efficacy in people with HIV.

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.

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.

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.