Brief mindfulness intervention reduces stress among health care professionals
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A brief mindfulness intervention appeared to reduce stress among health care professionals, according to results of a randomized clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open.
“An important challenge to broad implementation of mindfulness programs in health care settings is the time required for training and practice,” Rezvan Ameli, PhD, senior clinical psychologist of the NIMH, and colleagues wrote. “A typical mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program includes [eight] weekly, 2.5- to 3-hour in-class practice sessions, [one] full-day silent retreat and a recommendation for 45 minutes of daily practice. Attrition owing to time and schedule requirements and the cost of long programs can limit their utilization at the individual and organizational levels.”
Prior studies evaluated the introduction of shortened interventions that used components of mindfulness to reduce intervention lengths; however, more research is warranted to streamline programs in health care settings and thus maximize organizational/employee gains, according to the investigators. In the current study, Ameli and colleagues sought to assess the feasibility and efficacy of an abbreviated mindfulness-based self-care program (MBSC) for stress reduction during work hours among health care professionals at a single research hospital. They conducted the intent-to-treat trial between September 2017 and May 2018 and randomly assigned participants to five weekly, 1.5-hour in-class MBSC training sessions or life-as-usual control. Stress level according to score on the Perceived Stress Scale 10-Item version served as the primary outcome. Anxiety, burnout, positive and negative affect, mindfulness as a trait and state and self-care served as secondary outcomes. The investigators conducted assessments at baseline and at 5 weeks in the intervention and control groups, as well as at 13 weeks in the intervention group to test for a maintenance effect. They also obtained a post-program evaluation.
A total of 78 participants completed the study at 5 weeks and were included in a modified intent-to-treat analysis. Of these, 43 were in the MBSC group and 35 in the control. The MBSC group exhibited reduced stress levels and anxiety, as well as improved positive affect, state mindfulness and mindful self-care at the end of the intervention. However, the two groups had the same levels of burnout, negative affect and trait mindfulness. Through follow-up, the MBSC group exhibited sustained reductions in stress, anxiety, trait mindfulness and state mindfulness.
“We can address work stress with reasonable cost to the organization and time investment from the employees,” Ameli told Healio Psychiatry. “Reduced stress for health care workers not only enhances their own well-being, but it can translate into their work. Happier, healthier employees may provide better patient care, but of course more research is needed.”