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Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a 4-Week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Protocol for Hospital Employees

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Abstract

Hospital employees may experience occupational stress and burnout, which negatively impact quality of life and job performance. Evidence-based interventions implemented within the hospital setting are needed to promote employees’ well-being. We offered a 4-week mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) group program for hospital employees and used a mixed-methods practice-based research approach to explore feasibility, acceptability, and effects on stress and burnout. Participants were 65 hospital employees (M age = 44.06; 85% white) who participated between September 2015 and January 2016. Participants completed validated measures of stress and burnout before and after the program and answered open-ended satisfaction questions after the program. Groups consistently enrolled at least ten participants, but attendance rates declined across sessions (76% at session 2 vs. 54% at session 4) due primarily to work-related scheduling conflicts. The program content was acceptable as evidenced by high perceived value (M = 9.18 out of 10), homework compliance (51% practicing at least three times/week), and qualitative requests for program expansion. There were large, statistically significant decreases in stress (ΔM = 2.1, p < .001, d = 0.85) and medium decreases in burnout (ΔM = 0.46, p = .01, d = 0.57), which were supported by qualitative themes of improved self-regulation and mindfulness skills, stress reduction, emotional well-being, and improved work productivity and patient care skills. Findings suggest that 4-week MBCT is acceptable and useful for hospital employees, though research is needed to identify alternate delivery methods or strategies to enhance session attendance.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

CML completed the data analyses and wrote the paper. RSW assisted with the execution of the study and assisted with data analysis. KMK assisted with data analysis and contributed to writing the introduction of the paper. RWS delivered the intervention, assisted with the execution of the study, and contributed to writing the discussion of the paper. CH assisted with the execution of the study and contributed to writing the paper. SC designed and executed the study and contributed to writing and editing the paper.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina M. Luberto.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Funding

This study was supported in part by funds from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH 2T32AT000051-6; Dr. Luberto).

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Luberto, C.M., Wasson, R.S., Kraemer, K.M. et al. Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a 4-Week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Protocol for Hospital Employees. Mindfulness 8, 1522–1531 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0718-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0718-x

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