Tripathi, S. K., Mulkey, D. C. (2023). Implementing Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Reduce Compassion Fatigue. Critical Care Nurse. https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2023745
I find this paper especially exciting as the interventions (mindfulness meditation) were conducted by nursing staff and were effective at reducing measures of compassion fatigue and burn-out. The interventions consisted of brief (five minute) mindfulness exercises including elements of the body scan, focused attention practice. This suggests that the approach could be translated into actual practice with relative ease.
This research paper discusses the impact of mindfulness meditation on compassion fatigue and burn-out among nurses in a surgical-trauma unit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The background highlights the susceptibility of nurses to compassion fatigue due to work-related stressors leading to feelings of burnout and stress among the nurses.
The study was conducted from February 2021 to March 2022 on a 30-bed surgical trauma unit at a 555-bed urban hospital in the southwestern United States. In the study, “mindfulness champions” from the nursing staff led 5-minute interventions during shift huddles, including meditation, deep breathing, and self-compassion exercises. The Professional Quality of Life questionnaire (ProQOL-5) was used to evaluate burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction before and after the interventions. Paired-sample t tests were used to evaluate the results.
All subscale scores showed significant improvement after the intervention, with a decrease in burnout and secondary traumatic stress scores, and an increase in compassion satisfaction scores. Nurses reported that these interventions helped them cope with work-related stress.
This study provides evidence supporting the effectiveness of brief mindfulness-based interventions in reducing compassion fatigue and improving compassion satisfaction and emphasizes the significance of integrating such interventions into the daily workflow to support the well-being of nursing staff.
