Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health professionals were pushed to the front line of a global health crisis unprepared and resource constrained, which affected their mental well-being.Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a brief online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on stress and burnout for health professionals training and working in South Africa during the COVID-19 crisis.Setting: The context of the study is the overburdened, under-resourced health care system in South Africa during a global pandemic.Methods: A mixed method framework was adopted for this study. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis and the participants’ qualitative experiences were interpreted using interpretative phenomenological analysis.Results: Forty-seven participants took part in this study. The study found a statistically significant (p 0.05) reduction in stress levels and emotional exhaustion as well as an increase in mindful awareness and feelings of personal accomplishment after the intervention. The participants’ shared experiences were analysed in two parts. The pre-intervention analysis presented with central themes of loss of control and a sense of powerlessness because of COVID-19. The post-intervention analysis comprised themes of a sense of acquired control and empowerment through increased mindfulness.Conclusions: The study found that a brief online MBI can be associated with reduced levels of stress and burnout as well as an increased sense of control and empowerment, felt both personally and professionally, during a global crisis.Contribution: The impact of an online MBI for health care professionals amidst a pandemic has not been previously documented.
Interest in Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) with healthcare professionals has become increasingly popular. However, healthcare professionals’ busy schedules and low help-seeking behaviour requires the intervention to be easily accessible, convenient, and practical. This paper explores the reflections of multidisciplinary healthcare professionals regarding implementing a brief online MBI to draw on lessons learned that could guide future implementation and interventions in similar multicultural, resource-constrained settings. An online MBI was implemented with healthcare professionals (HCPs) working in urban and rural hospitals in South Africa during the first wave of Covid-19. Fifty-five healthcare professionals from various disciplines participated in a four-week online training programme via the Zoom platform. Participant reflections and feedback were collected via WhatsApp and Zoom room chats. The data collected were thematically analysed. Reflections from the implementation of the MBI were classified into questions of where, when, who, what, why, and how. The results reflect that a four-hour online mindfulness-based intervention could work more effectively if departments offered and supported the programme during work hours. The findings also reveal the greater potential for a brief online MBI to enhance resiliency in HCPs, especially during a pandemic emergency, as demonstrated in the study. The study proposes that mindfulness training could be offered to HCPs at many levels to help with psychological first aid and task shifting to reduce stress and prevent burnout.
Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) placed healthcare professionals (HCPs) at a higher risk for stress-related conditions. Implementing a brief online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) was hypothesised to transform the HCPs’ ability to cope with stress by enhancing their self-care.Aim: This study aimed to explore the impact of an online MBI on HCPs’ self-care practices and determine if personality traits were a moderating variable.Setting: An online MBI was implemented for HCPs working in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.Methods: A quantitative study design included a pre-assessment and post-assessment component, which allowed paired comparison and regression analysis to confer correlations. Data were collected via two validated instruments: the Mindful Self-Care scale-2018 and the Big Five Personality test.Results: Forty-nine HCPs participated in the study. Significant improvements were found in all the major self-care subscales post-intervention (p 0.05). No significant associations were found between the personality traits and self-care except for neuroticism, which appeared to be an essential moderating variable.Conclusion: An online MBI significantly impacted health professionals’ ability to care for themselves, despite their personality styles.Contribution: The impact of an online MBI on HCPs’ self-care during the most intense time of stress and with a cohort of people known to be the most vulnerable to stress, namely those with neuroticism to date, has not been commented on.
Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health professionals were pushed to the front line of a global health crisis unprepared, resource constrained, and with heightened uncertainty and distress levels. The impact of an online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for health care professionals amid a pandemic has not been previously documented. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of a brief online MBI on stress, burnout and mindful awareness for health professionals training and working during the COVID-19 crisis.Methods: A mixed methods, phenomenological, participatory evaluation framework was adopted for this study. A four-week online training programme was adapted and delivered to health professionals via the Zoom platform. Non-probability snowball sampling was used to recruit participants. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis via Stata 15.1 statistical software, and the participants’ qualitative experiences were interpreted using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).Results: Forty-seven participants took part in this study. The study found a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction in stress levels and emotional exhaustion as well as an increase in mindful awareness and feelings of personal accomplishment between the pre-and post-intervention assessments of the MBI. The participants’ shared experiences were analysed in two parts. The pre-intervention analysis presented with central themes of loss of control and a sense of powerlessness due to COVID-19. The post-intervention analysis comprised themes of a sense of acquired control and empowerment through increased mindfulness.Conclusions: The study found that a brief online MBI can be associated with increased awareness and present-moment focus as well as reduced levels of stress and burnout. The MBI had a positive impact on the health care professionals’ sense of control and empowerment, and increased their perceived sense of competence and accomplishment, both personally and professionally, during the global crisis.
Background: The disruptions of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic have placed added stress on health care practitioners’ (HCPs) mental health. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been reported to increase the awareness of burnout and promote self-care practices that enhance mental well-being.Aim: To gain insight into the use of mindfulness through the lens of PhotoVoice on how HCPs reflected on their stressors and sense of self whilst working as frontline workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Setting: This study was conducted online with HCPs working in South Africa during the first wave of COVID-19.Method: A four-week MBI intervention was implemented using Zoom. An exploratory qualitative analysis was conducted using a PhotoVoice methodology. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to generate themes. Fifty-five HCPs consented to participate in this study.Results: The major themes identified were operating on autopilot, feeling a sense of overwhelm because of COVID-19, using faith to cope and being able to attain a sense of self-compassion by the end of the intervention.Conclusions: Using visual representations, HCPs were able to share the development of their reperceived lived experiences of increased self-compassion as they navigated the dilemmas and disruptions of the pandemic.Contribution: A brief online MBI was impactful enough to show a reappraisal of the stressors of COVID-19, such that HCPs felt calmer, more competent and more compassionate. PhotoVoice methodology is recommended for future studies and mindfulness courses. It facilitates a deeper understanding of the practice of imbuing mindfulness and its impact on stressors and the self.
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