Mindfulness-Based Program for Anxiety and Depression Treatment in Healthcare Professionals: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

In primary health care, the work environment can cause high levels of anxiety and depression, triggering relevant expert and individual change. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programs reduce signs of anxiety and depression. The purpose of this sub-analysis of the total project, was to equate the effectiveness of the standard MBSR curriculum with the abbreviated version in minimizing anxiety and depression. This randomized controlled clinical trial enrolled 112 mentors and resident specialists from Family and Community Medicine and Nurses (FCMN), distributed across six teaching units (TU) of the Spanish National Health System (SNHS). Experimental group participants received a MBRS training (abbreviated/standard). Depression and anxiety levels were measured with the Goldberg Anxiety and Depression Scale (GADS) at three different time periods during the analysis: before (pre-test) and after (post-test) participation, as well as 3 months after the completion of intervention. Taking into account the pre-test scores as the covariate, an adjusted analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) showed significant depletion in anxiety and depression in general (F (2.91) = 4.488; p = 0.014; η2 = 0.090) and depression in particular (F (2, 91) = 6.653; p = 0.002; η2 = 0.128 at the post-test visit, maintaining their effects for 3 months (F (2.79) = 3.031; p = 0.050; η2 = 0.071—F (2.79) = 2.874; p = 0.049; η2 = 0.068, respectively), which is associated with the use of a standard training program. The abbreviated training program did not have a significant effect on the level of anxiety and depression. The standard MBSR training program had a positive effect on anxiety and depression and promotes long-lasting effects in tutors and resident practitioners. New research is needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of abbreviated versions of training programs.

The relationship between occupational burnout and work ability among firefighters: exploring the mediating effects of insomnia, depressive symptoms, loneliness and alcohol misuse

“…Our current findings may have relevant practical implications and point to a combination of depressive symptoms and loneliness as potential targets of interventions aiming to alleviate the deleterious impact of occupational burnout on the work ability of firefighters. Therapeutic programs devised in this way should be verified in clinical trials, similarly to interventions found to be effective in reducing loneliness [ 75 ] or depression [ 76 ] among workers who are at high risk of burnout. In addition to alleviating the negative effects of burnout, such therapeutic programs should also include preventive elements.…”

Resiliencia y síndrome de desgaste profesional en personal de enfermería del Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño, Lima, 2019

“…De acuerdo con lo anterior, los resultados del presente estudio podrían ser tomados en cuenta para establecer medidas preventivas en los hospitales que inculquen estrategias y conductas de Resiliencia, como programas educativos y de capacitación destinados a mejorar las habilidades de comunicación, apoyo psicológico y técnicas de relajación (31)(32)(33). Estas medidas permitirán disminuir actitudes negativas y tener mejor preparadas al personal de enfermería para afrontar situaciones estresantes.…”

Effects of Web-Based Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Anxiety, Depression, and Stress Among Frontline Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…The list of excluded studies and the reasons for their exclusion are shown in Multimedia Appendix 2. As a result, 10 randomized controlled studies were ultimately included in the study [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] (Figure 1).…”

“…Of the 10 articles, 5 were in English [32][33][34][35][36] and 5 were in Chinese [37][38][39][40][41]. For convenience, all the Chinese references have been translated into English.…”

“…Three studies recruited only nurses [34,37,41], and the remaining studies recruited 2 or more occupations. The total duration of the intervention was 8 weeks in 3 studies [36,38,39], 4 weeks in 3 studies [37,40,41], 16 days in 1 study [35], and 2 weeks in 1 study [32]. The duration of the intervention was the number of sessions in 2 studies: 7 sessions in 1 study [33] and only 1 session in another study [34].…”