The importance of formal versus informal mindfulness practice for enhancing psychological wellbeing and study engagement in a medical student cohort with a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle program.
Naomi Kakoschke, Craig Hassed, Richard Chambers, Kevin Lee
PLoS One 2021 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258999 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post intervention study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 205 |
| Population | First-year undergraduate medical students |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based lifestyle course |
| Duration | 5-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key points | A 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle program was associated with improved mental health, reduced perceived stress, increased study engagement, and greater mindfulness, with informal practice quality more consistently linked to improvements than formal practice. |
Abstract
Medical students commonly experience elevated psychological stress and poor mental health. To improve psychological wellbeing, a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle course was delivered to a first-year undergraduate medical student cohort as part of the core curriculum. This study investigated the effects of the program on mental health, perceived stress, study engagement, dispositional mindfulness, and whether any improvements were related to amount of formal and/or informal mindfulness practice. Participants were first year undergraduate medical students (N = 310, 60% female, M = 18.60 years) with N = 205 individuals completing pre and post course questionnaires in a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle intervention. At pre- and post-intervention, participants completed the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, and the Mindfulness Adherence Questionnaire. Mental health, perceived stress, study engagement, and mindfulness all improved from pre- to post-intervention (all p values < .001). Improvements on these outcome measures were inter-related such that PSS change scores were negatively correlated with all other change scores, FMI change scores were positively correlated with MHC-SF and UWES-S change scores, the latter of which was positively correlated with MHC-SF change scores (all p values < .01). Finally, observed improvements in all of these outcomes were positively related to informal practice quality while improved FMI scores were related to formal practice (all p values < .05). A 5-week mindfulness-based program correlates with improving psychological wellbeing and study engagement in medical students. These improvements particularly occur when students engage in informal mindfulness practice compared to formal practice.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 15
- The effect of mindfulness interventions on stress in medical students: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One 2023
- Are Formal and Informal Home Mindfulness Practice Quantities Associated With Outcomes? Results From a Pilot Study of a Four-Week Mindfulness Intervention for Chronic Pain Management. Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health 2024
- Psychedelic-Assisted Psychotherapy and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Potential Synergies Mindfulness September 1, 2023
- The Western Australian medical schools mindfulness project: a randomised controlled trial. BMC Medical Education October 22, 2024
- Psychometric properties of the short form of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory in the Arabic language. International journal of environmental health research July 1, 2024
and 10 more in the library
Cites 21
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being JAMA Internal Medicine January 6, 2014
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- How long does a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress Journal of Clinical Psychology March 23, 2009
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Teaching and Learning in Medicine April 1, 2003
and 16 more in the library