Podium Presentation 6th World Congress on Positive Psychology 2019

Examining The Use Of Mindfulness And Meditation Training For Healthcare Professionals And Trainees: A Meta-Analysis Of RTCs (#128)

Christina Spinelli 1 , Melanie Wisener 1 , Bassam Khoury 1
  1. McGil University, Montreal, QUEBEC, Canada

Due to the stressful nature of their work, healthcare professionals and trainees (HCPs, HCPs-IT) are often susceptible to negative physical and mental health consequences (ex. stress, anxiety, burnout). In turn, this can impact quality of patient care and the overall healthcare system. Responding to these concerns, health and educational organizations have been called to implement stress management programs; a number of which utilize mindfulness. The current study evaluated the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on distress, well-being, physical health, and performance in HCPs and HCPs-IT. A comprehensive search of four electronic databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Medline, and ProQuest Dissertation and Theses) was conducted. 38 RCTs were included in the analyses (N = 2505; 75.88% female). Statistically significant moderate effects were found on psychological distress (Hedge's g = .46), stress (Hedge's g = .52, anxiety (Hedge's g = .47), and depression (Hedge's g = .41). In addition, small to moderate effects were found for burnout (Hedge's g = .26) and well-being at post-intervention (Hedge's g = .32). Collectively, these analyses suggest MBIs are beneficial for HCPs and HCPs-IT, and healthcare and educational settings should integrate didactic, discursive, and meditative components in their interventions.