Comparison of Mindfulness Practices for Effectiveness of Stress and Burnout Reduction in Healthcare Staff

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of various mindfulness practices for reducing feelings of stress and burnout among healthcare staff. Study Design: This article contains the quantitative portion of a mixed-methods study. Methods: Healthcare workers (n = 48) were randomly assigned to one of three practices. Data were collected at three-time points (pre-intervention, mid-intervention, and three-weeks-post-intervention). Scores on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) were recorded at each time point. Findings: Scores on the PSS reduced significantly (p < .05) across three time periods. Maslach Burnout Inventory for Human Services Survey EE subscale scores reduced significantly (p < .05) across three time periods. There was no significant difference between the intervention groups on PSS or MBI-HSS scores. Conclusions: All three mindfulness practices were effective in reducing perceived occupational stress and emotional exhaustion. There was no intervention that stood out from the others as the most effective in reducing scores on the PSS and MBI-HSS. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of mindfulness practices that are short in time and simple in implementation for relieving stress and burnout in healthcare staff.

Keywords: healthcare staff; mindfulness; stress management.

PMID: 38111298 DOI: 10.1177/08980101231219304

The format of this dissertation is composed of three separate but related articles exploring the proposed research question and objectives. The first article (Chapter 2) compared the baseline data gathered during participant recruitment with data from previous research, to investigate a difference in the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) scores due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second article (Chapter 3) explored the quantitative data obtained throughout and at the conclusion of the intervention, including demographic data in relation to PSS and MBI-HSS scores. The third article (Chapter 4) explored the qualitative data analysis and overall conclusions of the mixed-method analysis. The sample included 42 healthcare staff and the data analyses included both quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results revealed that scores during the COVID-19 pandemic are higher for perceived stress and burnout compared to pre-pandemic levels; perceived stress and burnout were measured at three different time points (pre-intervention, post intervention, and 3-week follow-up);scores on the PSS reduced significantly across all time periods as well as MBI-HSS scores on the Emotional Exhaustion (EE) subscale; and all three mindfulness practices were effective in reducing feelings of stress and emotional exhaustion, a component of burnout. Ease of use of a mindfulness practice promotes effective implementation, implementing a mindfulness practice and thus reducing stress can have a positive impact on self and others, and home and work-related factors can affect implementation. Keywords burnout, healthcare staff, mindfulness. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)