Focused-Attention Meditation Improves Flow, Communication Skills, and Safety Attitudes of Surgeons
Hao Chen, Chao Liu, Fang Zhou, Xinyi Cao, Kan Wu, Yi-Lang Chen, Chia-Yih Liu, Ding-Hau Huang, Wen-Ko Chiou
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health April 27, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095292 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 140 |
| Population | Surgeons from three hospitals in China |
| Intervention | Focused-attention meditation (FAM) training |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Psychological intervention Adverse effect Intervention counseling Test biology Incidence geometry Physical therapy Patient safety Poison control Health care Nursing Medical emergency |
| Citations | 25 |
| Key findings | Focused-attention meditation training significantly improved surgeons' flow, communication skills, and safety attitudes, and reduced the incidence of adverse clinical events. |
Abstract
Objective: Patient safety is a worldwide problem and a focus of academic research. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) is an approach to improving healthcare work systems and processes. From the perspective of the cognitive ergonomics of HFE, the aim of this study is to improve the flow level, communication skills, and safety attitudes of surgeons through focused-attention meditation (FAM) training, thus helping to reduce adverse clinical events.
Methods: In total, 140 surgeons were recruited from three hospitals in China and randomly divided into two groups (FAM group and control group). The FAM group received 8 weeks of FAM training, while the control group was on the waiting list and did not receive any interventions. Three scales (WOLF, LCSAS, and SAQ-C) were used to measure the data of three variables (flow, communication skills, and safety attitude), respectively, at two times, before and after the intervention (pre-test and post-test). The incidence of adverse events during the intervention was also collected for both groups.
Results: The ANOVA results showed that all three variables had a significant main effect of time and significant interactions between time and group. The independent-sample T-test results showed that the incidence of adverse events during the intervention was significantly lower in the FAM group than in the control group.
Conclusions: The intervention of FAM could significantly improve surgeons' flow levels, communication skills, and safety attitudes, potentially helping to reduce adverse clinical events.