A Mindfulness-Based Intervention to Reduce Stress Through the Cultivation of Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity in Healthcare Professionals

Study Summary

Nearly 50% of the adult workforce experience adverse psychological symptoms (e.g., stress, depression, burnout, etc.) stemming from workplace stressors, with healthcare workers experiencing rates as high as 80%. Some common complaints and downstream consequences of working in high-stress healthcare occupations are elevated levels of perceived stress, depression, and burnout. These conditions have been associated with unfavorable occupational (e.g., increased medical errors), patient (e.g., increased mortality rates), and provider-related outcomes (e.g., increased rates of cardiovascular disease), imposing a heavy burden on an already stretched system. Given the impact of perceived stress, depression, and burnout on employee and patient health, a clear need exists to develop effective interventions to reduce distress and promote well-being among healthcare professionals. In particular, interventions that target processes particularly vulnerable to provider stress (e.g., compassion) are needed. The present study will evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a mindfulness-based intervention inspired by the Buddhist Four Immeasurables practice on reducing perceived stress (primary outcome), depressive symptoms, burnout, and biological markers of inflammation, and enhancing psychological well-being and sleep quality (secondary outcomes) in 80 healthcare workers. Additionally, we will investigate several mediators (compassion, positive emotions, equanimity, and mindfulness) of intervention effects. Participants will be healthcare employees of UCLA Health. They will be enrolled in a six-week, two-arm randomized controlled trial. Participants will complete self-report questionnaires at baseline, mid-course, and post-intervention to assess study outcomes and mediators. We aim to advance the study of interventions that reduce distress and promote well-being using practices that cultivate kind feelings toward oneself and others.

Primary Outcome

Stress will be assessed using the ten-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The PSS evaluates how often individuals appraised situations in their lives as stressful during the past month (e.g., "In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that were outside of your control?"). Respondents respond on a five-point Likert scale from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). All scores are summed to provide a total stress score. Scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating a high

Conditions Studied

Interventions

• BEHAVIORAL Building Emotional Strength Training

Study Locations (1)