The Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Program Is Associated with Sustained Improvement in Clinician Well-Being: Results from an Observational Cohort Study.
Brittany L Garcia, Maureen A Craig, Nicole Adams, Elyse R Park, Michelle L Dossett
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health January 28, 2026 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph23020161 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Clinicians who registered to participate in the SMART Program |
| Intervention | Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Program |
| Duration | 2-month intervention, 6-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Health personnel Occupational stress Professional burnout |
| Key findings | Participation in the SMART Program was associated with significant improvements in clinician well-being that persisted six months following program completion and was positively associated with the number of stress-management tools used and meditation practice. |
Abstract
Burnout negatively impacts clinicians, patients, and healthcare systems. We examined the immediate and sustained effects of an evidence-based, multi-modal Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Program on clinician well-being. Clinicians who registered to participate in the SMART Program were invited to join an observational study and complete questionnaires before the program started, at two months (post-program), and at eight months (six months following program completion). We found significant improvements in well-being, burnout, perceived stress, stress coping, resilience, and self-compassion at 2 months (all p < 0.001), with moderate-to-large effect sizes (d = 0.57 to 1.0). Significant benefits were maintained at 8 months, with small-to-moderate effect sizes (d = 0.41 to 0.65). Exploratory analyses found significant correlations between improvements in well-being from baseline to 8 months and the number of stress-management techniques used at 8 months (r = 0.53, p < 0.0001) and the number of days on which participants practiced meditation for at least 10 min (r = 0.28, p = 0.049). Participation in the SMART Program was associated with significant improvements in clinician well-being that persisted six months following program completion and was positively associated with the number of stress-management tools used and meditation practice.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |