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Determining the feasibility and effectiveness of brief online mindfulness training for rural medical students: a pilot study.

ABSTRACT: We sought to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness training program, delivered online to medical students at a Rural Clinical School. An 8-week online training program was delivered to penultimate-year medical students at an Australian Rural Clinical School during 2016. Using a mixed methods approach, we measured the frequency and duration of participants' mindfulness meditation practice, and assessed changes in their perceived stress, self-compassion and compassion levels, as well as personal and professional attitudes and behaviours. Forty-seven participants were recruited to the study. 50% of participants were practising mindfulness meditation at least weekly by the end of the 8-week program, and 32% reported practising at least weekly 4?months following completion of the intervention. There was a statistically significant reduction in participants' perceived stress levels and a significant increase in self-compassion at 4-month follow-up. Participants reported insights about the personal and professional impact of mindfulness meditation training as well as barriers to practice. The results provide preliminary evidence that online training in mindfulness meditation can be associated with reduced stress and increased self-compassion in rural medical students. More rigorous research is required to establish concrete measures of feasibility of a mindfulness meditation program.

SUBMITTER: Moore S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7137339 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Determining the feasibility and effectiveness of brief online mindfulness training for rural medical students: a pilot study.

Moore Sarah S Barbour Rita R Ngo Hanh H Sinclair Craig C Chambers Richard R Auret Kirsten K Hassed Craig C Playford Denese D

BMC medical education 20200406 1

<h4>Background</h4>We sought to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of a mindfulness training program, delivered online to medical students at a Rural Clinical School.<h4>Methods</h4>An 8-week online training program was delivered to penultimate-year medical students at an Australian Rural Clinical School during 2016. Using a mixed methods approach, we measured the frequency and duration of participants' mindfulness meditation practice, and assessed changes in their perceived stress, sel ...[more]

PMID: 32252750

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Project description:BackgroundPsychological distress in University settings has grown and became a public health concern. In this context, contemplative practices such as mindfulness have been proposed as a strategy to help students on stress management.MethodsForty university students (20 female), aged between 18 to 30 years (mean = 24.15; SD = 3.56), with no previous experience with meditation or yoga were recruited at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and randomized to a mindfulness training (MT) or active control (AC) groups. We analyzed measures of anxiety, affect, stress, as well as state and trait mindfulness in order to evaluate the effects of trait mindfulness and a brief mindfulness intervention in forty healthy young students. Participants were classified as Low (n = 27, females = 13) or High (n = 13, females = 7) Trait Mindfulness by k-means clustering and compared between them using Wilcoxon sum rank test. Furthermore, the sample was randomly allocated to an AC (n = 20, females = 10) or a MT (n = 20, females = 10) group, and mixed analysis of variance was performed to analyze the effect of interventions. The mechanisms and role of trait mindfulness in the intervention was assessed by a moderated mediation analysis.ResultsWe found that High Trait individuals have lower anxiety trait, anxiety state and perceived stress levels. Only the MT group reduced their anxiety state and perceived stress after the intervention and increased their state mindfulness. Both groups reduced negative affect and cortisol, and no change was found in positive affect. Moderated mediation analysis showed that the training-induced change in state mindfulness mediated the increase in positive affect and the decrease in perceived stress and cortisol, regardless of trait mindfulness. For anxiety state the decrease only occurred in individuals with High Trait Mindfulness.ConclusionsTogether, these results suggest that higher trait mindfulness is associated with low levels of psychological distress and that a brief mindfulness-based intervention seems to be useful to reduce distress measures in university students.Trial registrationReBEC, U1111-1194-8661. Registered 28 March 2017-Retrospectively registered, http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-7b8yh8.

Project description:BackgroundMedical school typically presents students with a combination of academic and personal stressors that may lead to substandard mental health wellbeing. Meditation practices such as mindfulness facilitate a greater awareness of one's thoughts and feelings, thereby decreasing emotional reactivity. The use of mindfulness-based interventions delivered online has considerable potential in fostering self-care and helping medical students to handle mental health challenges. We examined the available evidence on the use of online mindfulness interventions in order to determine whether they are feasible and effective for improving medical students' mental health.MethodsWe performed a systematic review guided by PRISMA guidelines and utilised the following databases: ProQuest, Medline, PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, IEEE Explore, Cochrane, and CINAHL. The key search terms used include mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, online, web, virtual, internet cyber, app, medical students, residency students, and residents. English-language articles published in the last ten years that described online interventions for medical students or residents were included in the review.ResultsTwo studies describing the impact of online mindfulness interventions on medical students' mental health were identified. Research in this domain is nascent; available qualitative and quantitative evidence suggests benefits in self-compassion, perceived stress, cognitive skill use, mindfulness, creating coping mechanisms, and greater awareness of emotions and feelings. There was no evidence of the effectiveness of online mindfulness interventions on depression, anxiety and burnout. There was, however, general low program usage and participation tended to diminish near the conclusion of the interventions.ConclusionsThe evidence found in the systematic review exhibits the potential for online mindfulness interventions to be effective in addressing some mental health challenges of medical students. There was insufficient evidence to support the use of online mindfulness interventions for burnout, depression, and anxiety. Longitudinal studies with randomised controlled trials are required to generate stronger and robust evidence.

Project description:IntroductionThere is growing interest in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program to combat mental distress in medical students. In Saudi Arabia, literature is insufficient about MBSR and its effectiveness. This study aims to measure the effectiveness of MBSR in improving mindful state, stress, anxiety, and depression in medical students. Also, the study explores the association between the attendance rate of MBSR sessions and its effectiveness. Lastly, the study examines gender differences in response to MBSR.MethodsThis is a stratified randomized controlled study of 84 medical students from two medical schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They were recruited voluntarily from November 2018 to April 2021, and allocated to MBSR and waitlist groups using a stratified randomization method based on gender. MBSR group received eight weeks of sessions through audiovisual materials. An online survey utilizing validated questionnaires assessing stress, mindfulness, anxiety, and depression was used to evaluate both groups pre-program (time 0), post-program (time 1), and three months later (time 2).ResultsSeventy-one participants completed the post-test (time 1). There were no differences between study groups at time 0 and 1. However, in 41 subjects who completed the follow-up test (time 2), the anxiety dropped significantly in MBSR group (mean difference (MD), -3.935; 95% CI, -7.580 to -0.290). Furthermore, attending more MBSR sessions was inversely correlated with depression (r, -0.556; P, 0.002), and anxiety (r, -0.630; P, 0.000). Compared to their baseline, males in MBSR group improved in stress (MD, 3.08; 95% CI, 0.30 to 5.86), anxiety (MD, 4.91; 95% CI, 3.32 to 6.50), and mindfulness (MD, -0.58; 95% CI, -1.01 to -0.15), while females improved in stress (MD, 2.64; 95% CI, 0.02 to 5.26).ConclusionDespite the study being interrupted by the stressful COVID-19 outbreak, the findings suggest that MBSR improved psychological outcomes when participants commit to the program.

Project description:Up to 50% of patients undergoing hemodialysis suffer from symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Access to traditional pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies for depression or anxiety in this patient population has been inadequate. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of brief mindfulness meditation intervention for patients on hemodialysis with depression and anxiety symptoms.This study was a randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded trial conducted in an urban hemodialysis unit. Forty-one patients were randomly assigned to intervention (n=21) and treatment-as-usual (n=20) groups. The intervention group received an 8-week individual chairside meditation intervention lasting 10-15 minutes, three times a week during hemodialysis. Feasibility outcomes were primarily assessed: enrollment rates, intervention completion rates, and intervention tolerability. Symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7).Of those deemed eligible for the study, 67% enrolled (41 of 61). Of the participants randomized to the intervention group, 71% completed the study, with meditation being well tolerated (median rating of 8 of 10 in a Likert scale; interquartile range=10-5 of 10). Barriers to intervention delivery included frequent hemodialysis shift changes, interruptions by staff or alarms, space constraints, fluctuating participant medical status, and participant fatigue. Meditation was associated with subjective benefits but no statistically significant effect on depression scores (change in PHQ-9, -3.0±3.9 in the intervention group versus -2.0±4.7 in controls; P=0.45) or anxiety scores (change in GAD-7, -0.9±4.6 versus -0.8±4.8; P=0.91).On the basis of the results of this study, mindfulness meditation appears to be feasible and well tolerated in patients on hemodialysis with anxiety and depression symptoms. The study did not reveal significant effects of the interventions on depression and anxiety scores.This article contains a podcast at https://www.asn-online.org/media/podcast/CJASN/2017_10_12_CJASNPodcast_17_12_.mp3.

Project description:Distress and burnout among medical and psychology professionals are commonly reported and have implications for the quality of patient care delivered. Already in the course of university studies, medicine and psychology students report mental distress and low life satisfaction. There is a need for interventions that promote better coping skills in students in order to prevent distress and future burnout. This study examines the effect of a seven-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme on mental distress, study stress, burnout, subjective well-being, and mindfulness of medical and psychology students.A total of 288 students (mean age =?23 years, 76% female) from the University of Oslo and the University of Tromsø were randomly allocated to an intervention or control group. The control group continued with their standard university courses and received no intervention. Participants were evaluated using self-reported measures both before and after the intervention. These were: the 'General Health Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory Student version, Perceived Medical School Stress, Subjective Well-being, and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire' and additional indices of compliance.Following the intervention, a moderate effect on mental distress (Hedges'g 0.65, CI =?.41, .88), and a small effect on both subjective well-being (Hedges'g 0.40, CI =?.27, .63) and the mindfulness facet 'non-reacting' (Hedges'g 0.33, CI =?.10, .56) were found in the intervention group compared with the control group. A higher level of programme attendance and reported mindfulness exercises predicted these changes. Significant effects were only found for female students who additionally reported reduced study stress and an increase in the mindfulness facet 'non-judging'. Gender specific effects of participation in the MBSR programme have not previously been reported, and gender differences in the present study are discussed.Female medical and psychology students experienced significant positive improvements in mental distress, study stress, subjective well-being and mindfulness after participating in the MBSR programme.NCT00892138.

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Determining the feasibility and effectiveness of brief online mindfulness training for rural medical students: a pilot study.

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Determining the feasibility and effectiveness of brief online mindfulness training for rural medical students: a pilot study.

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