Mindfulness Interventions Improve Sleep Disturbance for ICU Nurses
Here is another small study which supports the benefits of Mindfulness Interventions to support nurses’ well-being and address sleep disturbance, which the study reports is common in Intensive Care Unit Nurses. The study design is particularly interesting because it compares a live Mindfulness Intervention consisting of four one-hour weekly sessions with home practice to a control consisting of watching four Mindfulness videos. Improvement in self-reported sleep disturbance was reported by both groups, with greater benefit reported by the group receiving the live training. I find it significant that the comparison group, which received a less effective intervention, benefitted nonetheless.
Blueprint for the Mindfulness Based Hospital?
Well, not exactly. More like a planning guide for introducing Mindfulness Based Interventions in a hospital. This 2024 qualitative review of 18 studies synthesized the factors affecting implementation in hospital settings. The study identified three overall themes important for successful implementation. Reading this study reminded me of my experiences as a new graduate RN. I was employed in a rural hospital in the Catskill region of New York State. I was on a committee which was the “change agent” charged with replacing the “team nursing” model with the “primary nursing” model hospital wide. A guide like this paper would have been so helpful then. I recommend it to anyone planning to introduce Mindfulness to nursing or other hospital staff.
Buddhist Mindfulness in Five Sessions Improves Physician Wellness and Communication
Qualitative study shows that a brief, five week course of two hour classes and home practice of applied mindfulness based on the teachings of Zen Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh were acceptable to a population of physicians and was effective to increase their perceived sense of wellness and enhance communication with their patients and colleagues.
Qualities of Guided Meditation Recordings Systematically Analyzed
In a departure from my usual choice of studies to highlight in this blog I’ll share with the reader a “look under the hood” for a glimpse into the process of teaching mindfulness. Here is an interesting analysis of features of guided mindfulness recordings which may enhance or degrade the learner’s experience. I experience the creation of a guided practice recording to have elements of logic and planning mixed with a sense of the art of speech communication. I will certainly be listening (yet again) to my own voice recordings and (perhaps) replacing some with newer versions.
Mindfulness Interventions Reduce Anxiety, Depression, and Fatigue in Lung Cancer Patients
A 2023 Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis showed that mindfulness-based interventions such as MBSR and MBCT may significantly reduce psychological symptoms and fatigue in patients with lung cancer. Programs which utilized shorter ( 8 weeks) highly structured interventions showed better effects than longer, less programs.
A Brief Loving Kindness Meditation FOR NICU Nurses Reduced Compassion Fatigue
Compassion fatigue is defined as a physical and emotional exhaustion alongside diminished empathy
in caregivers of persons who experience suffering from acute or chronic health conditions. Loving Kindness Meditation is a practice with ancient roots and a component of modern Mindfulness practices. This study demonstrates that Loving Kindness Meditation for NICU nurses was an effective and easily implemented intervention to promote nursing resilience and prevent compassion fatigue.
Mindfulness Meditation Reduces Nursing Staff Burn-Out
The research paper describes a study to investigate the impact of a nurse led mindfulness meditation on compassion fatigue on a nursing unit of a large metropolitan hospital in the US. The study suggests that brief (5 minute) nurse-led interventions can have a significant impact reducing compassion fatigue and burn-out.
Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on burnout and self-compassion among critical care nurses caring for patients with COVID-19: a quasi-experimental study.
The research paper describes a study to investigate the impact of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on nurse burnout. The study found that nurses in the intervention group showed significant improvements in burnout and highlights the importance of implementing mindfulness-based programs to support the mental health of nurses during challenging times.
Qualitative Study Demonstrates Benefits of Shared Meditation Involving Cancer Patients, Health Professionals and Third Persons
A qualitative study focusing on shared mindfulness meditation among cancer patients, health professionals, and third persons demonstrated acceptability and benefits for participants. The study design utilized an intervention similar to Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) which described in detail. The study included focus groups with patients, health professionals, and third persons, revealing positive perceptions towards meditating together.
A Brief (3-minute) Mindfulness Intervention Demonstrates Reduced Compassion Fatigue and Burnout in Hospital Nursing Staff
I focus on this study for three reasons:
1) It is brief and potentially replicable as an intervention in other settings at minimal cost.
2) The Intervention – the Three Minute Breathing Space – has demonstrated efficacy and is easily taught.
3) The study author was taught to teach the Three Minute Breathing Space by one of the authors of the intervention, Zindel Siegal of the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation.
4) I was taught to teach the Three Minute Breathing Space by staff of the Oxford Mindfulness Foundation as part of the three hour curriculum “Introducing Mindfulness”.