The Impact of an Innovative Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program on the Health and Well-Being of Nurses Employed in a Corporate Setting

Dawn Bazarko, Rebecca A Cate, Francisca Azocar, Mary Jo Kreitzer, Dawn Bazarko, Rebecca A Cate, Francisca Azocar, Mary Jo Kreitzer

Abstract

This study implemented an innovative new model of delivering a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program that replaces six of the eight traditional in-person sessions with group telephonic sessions (tMBSR) and measured the program's impact on the health and well-being of nurses employed within a large health care organization. As part of a nonrandomized pre-post intervention study, 36 nurses completed measures of health, stress, burnout, self-compassion, serenity, and empathy at three points in time. Between baseline (Time 1) and the end of the 8-week tMBSR intervention (Time 2), participants showed improvement in general health, t(37) = 2.8, p < .01, decreased stress, t(37) = 6.8, p < .001, decreased work burnout, t(37) = 4.0, p < .001, and improvement in several other areas. Improvements were sustained 4 months later (Time 3), and individuals who continued their MBSR practice after the program demonstrated better outcomes than those that did not. Findings suggest that the tMBSR program can be a low cost, feasible, and scalable intervention that shows positive impact on health and well-being, and could allow MBSR to be delivered to employees who are otherwise unable to access traditional, on-site programs.

Keywords: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR); burnout; healthcare; meditation; nursing; stress.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Response rate throughout recruitment and participation in the telephonic Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (tMBSR) intervention.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Change in perceived stress as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale from baseline (Time 1) to postintervention (Time 2) to 4-month follow-up (Time 3). ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Change in personal, work, and client burnout from baseline (Time 1) to postintervention (Time 2) to 4-month follow-up (Time 3). CBI = Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. *p < .05. ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Change in health as measured by the SF12v2 from baseline (Time 1) to postintervention (Time 2) to 4-month follow-up (Time 3). Phys. Funct. = physical functioning; Social Funct. = social functioning; PCS = Physical Component Score; MCS = Mental Health Component Score. *p < .05. ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)
FIGURE 5.
FIGURE 5.
Change in serenity as measured by the Brief Serenity Scale from baseline (Time 1) to postintervention (Time 2) to 4-month follow-up (Time 3). ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)
FIGURE 6.
FIGURE 6.
Change in empathy as measured by the Jefferson Scale of Empathy from baseline (Time 1) to postintervention (Time 2) to 4-month follow-up (Time 3). ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)
FIGURE 7.
FIGURE 7.
Change in overall self-compassion and its subscales as measured by the Self-Compassion Scale from baseline (Time 1) to postintervention (Time 2) to 4-month follow-up (Time 3). *p < .05. ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)
FIGURE 8.
FIGURE 8.
Impact of maintaining Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) practice after the intervention on 4-month outcomes (Time 3). *p < .05. ***p < .001. (Color figure available online.)

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