Owens, R.A., Alfes, C., Evans S., Wyka K., Fitzpatrick J.J. (2020). An Exploratory Study of a 3-Minute Mindfulness Intervention on Compassion Fatigue in Nurses. Holist Nurs Pract 2020;34(5):274–281. DOI: 10.1097/HNP.0000000000000402
A three-minute practice done three times a day for four weeks in a group of nurses demonstrated significant improvements in Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress. I spotlighted this study in the Nursing Whitepaper “To Burn Out or Thrive …” accessible on this website at Free Downloads
A national survey of over 3300 nurses revealed that 55% feel their job affects their health negatively. Rates of depression symptoms among nurses range from 18% to 41%, significantly higher than the general public.
This study states that compassion fatigue (CF) is prevalent in acute care nurses, with rates reaching up to 85%. Interventions impacting CF is essential because it correlates with increased health risks for nurses. CF and its 2 related concepts, burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS), have also been identified as contributing to adverse nurse health issues. Compassion Fatigue is experienced by 85% in acute care and 70% in ICU settings.
Providing effective healthcare demands we address Compassion Fatigue and Burnout. Compassion satisfaction (CS), arises from the experience of helping and feeling positively about contributions to patients., and is both an antidote to Compassion Fatigue as well as a measure of nurse wellness.
The subjects were acute/critical care RNs in the New York City region from five New York City area hospitals. Thirty-two nurses participated over four weeks. The intervention demonstrated statistically significant reductions in compassion fatigue measures.
This study evaluated the impact on Compassion Fatigue, Burnout, Secondary Traumatic Stress of the “Three Minute Breathing Space” practice done three times a day for four weeks. The “Three Minute Breathing Space” provides a practical brief exercise to stop and become mindful of whatever is happening in the present moment. This is the shortest and one of the most practical practices from the Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) curriculum. Each step may take about one minute. This is especially beneficial when caught up in reactivity, stress, or overwhelm.
The study found significant improvements in Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress. Compassion Satisfaction scores which were high at baseline remained high, indicating that participants experienced professional satisfaction with their work. Participant retention (32 of 45 nurses recruited, or 71% completed the study) demonstrated the acceptability and feasibility of the intervention. The efficacy of the intervention was further demonstrated by adherence to the prescribed practice: Participants practiced on average two times per day, three days a week instead of the prescribed three times a day, seven days a week. That’s a weekly average of six mindfulness practices versus twenty-one per week and still demonstrated statistically significant results.
Noteworthy is the use of the “Three Minute Breathing Space”, one of the briefest mindfulness practices which have been authored by experts in the mindfulness field and incorporated into evidence-based mindfulness courses. One author of the “Three Minute Breathing Space” which is taught in Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is Dr Zindel Segal, one of the authors of the MBCT curriculum. A variation of the “Three Minute Breathing Space” – “The Three-Step Breathing Space” is included in the Introducing Mindfulness curriculum developed by Dr. Segal’s colleagues at Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.
Importantly, Rebecca A. Owens, the principal investigator for this study, received formal training from Zindel Siegal and others. She in turn provided instructions and practice guidance to the study participants. Mindfulness practices are best taught by those who have been educated to teach mindfulness. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the author of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) asserts that authenticity is essential when teaching mindfulness which … “… cannot be taught to others in an authentic way without the instructor’s practicing it in his or her own life. Mindfulness meditation is not simply a method that one encounters for a brief time at a professional seminar and then passes on to others for use as needed when they find themselves tense or stressed.”
Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice, 10, 144–156. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Mindfulness-Based-Interventions-in-Context%3A-Past%2C-Kabat%E2%80%90Zinn/eb73f85e2c3578ee8206787a6e7e96857fec9bc3
