Effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction interventions for psychiatric nurses in high-acuity inpatient settings
Journal of Mental Health Nursing January 1, 2026 Min-Jae Park, Soo-Yeon Kim
Psychiatric nurses in locked inpatient wards who completed an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme showed reductions in perceived stress compared with a waitlist control group. The quasi-experimental study assigned 62 nurses from three South Korean teaching hospitals to MBSR or a control condition. The programme included weekly 90-minute group sessions of body scan, sitting meditation, gentle yoga, and mindful movement, plus daily home practice. Outcomes measured at baseline, post-intervention, and 12-week follow-up included the Perceived Stress Scale, emotional exhaustion, and mindful attention. The intervention group's perceived stress decreased by a mean of 4.83 points.