Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of an App-Based Meditation Intervention to Decrease Firefighter Psychological Distress and Burnout: A One-Group Pilot Study

A pilot test of a smartphone-based meditation app with 35 professional firefighters found that the 10-day self-guided program was feasible and acceptable. After using the app, firefighters showed significant reductions in anxiety, burnout, and negative affect, along with changes in waking cortisol levels, an objective marker of stress biology. The app, developed by Healthy Minds Innovations, included practices for mindfulness, connection, insight, and purpose. The authors call for further research to confirm the app's efficacy in reducing psychological distress and burnout among firefighters.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background Firefighters are often exposed to occupational stressors that can result in psychological distress (ie, anxiety and depression) and burnout. These occupational stressors have only intensified with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and will likely persist in the postpandemic world. Objective To address occupational stressors confronting firefighters, we pilot tested a novel, cost-effective, smartphone app–based meditation intervention created by Healthy Minds Innovations that focused on mindfulness (awareness) training along with practices designed to cultivate positive relationships (connection), insight into the nature of the self (insight), and a sense of purpose in the context of challenge (purpose) with a sample of professional firefighters from a large metropolitan area in southwestern United States. Methods A total of 35 participants were recruited from a closed online group listserv and completed the self-guided 10-unit meditation app over the course of 10 days, at 1 unit per day. We assessed anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, burnout, and negative affect as well as saliva diurnal cortisol rhythm, an objective indicator of stress-related biology, before and after use of the meditation app. Results This study demonstrated the meditation app was both feasible and acceptable for use by the majority of firefighters. We also found significant reductions in firefighters’ anxiety (P=.01), burnout (P=.05), and negative affect (P=.04), as well as changes in cortisol diurnal rhythm, such as waking cortisol (P=.02), from before to after use of the meditation app. Conclusions Our study findings call for future research to demonstrate the efficacy of this meditation app to reduce psychological distress and burnout in firefighters.