The Impact of an Innovative Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program on the Health and Well-Being of Nurses Employed in a Corporate Setting
Dawn Bazarko, Rebecca A. Cate, Francisca Azocar, Mary Jo Kreitzer
Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health April 1, 2013 DOI: 10.1080/15555240.2013.779518 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Nonrandomized pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | Nurses employed within a large health care organization |
| Duration | 8-week intervention, 4-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 272 |
| Key points | The telephone-based MBSR program led to sustained improvements in general health, stress, and work burnout among nurses. |
Abstract
This study implemented an innovative new model of delivering a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program that replaces six of the eight traditional in-person sessions with group telephonic sessions (tMBSR) and measured the program's impact on the health and well-being of nurses employed within a large health care organization. As part of a nonrandomized pre-post intervention study, 36 nurses completed measures of health, stress, burnout, self-compassion, serenity, and empathy at three points in time. Between baseline (Time 1) and the end of the 8-week tMBSR intervention (Time 2), participants showed improvement in general health, t(37) = 2.8, p < .01, decreased stress, t(37) = 6.8, p < .001, decreased work burnout, t(37) = 4.0, p < .001, and improvement in several other areas. Improvements were sustained 4 months later (Time 3), and individuals who continued their MBSR practice after the program demonstrated better outcomes than those that did not. Findings suggest that the tMBSR program can be a low cost, feasible, and scalable intervention that shows positive impact on health and well-being, and could allow MBSR to be delivered to employees who are otherwise unable to access traditional, on-site programs.