Can a mindful medicine workshop improve healthcare professional well-being? A quasi-experimental study

Introduction: Burnout and psychological distress are common among healthcare professionals. Mindfulness-based strategies delivered over several weeks have been shown to improve well-being and reduce burnout.

Aim: This study aimed to assess whether a brief mindfulness intervention could improve well-being in a heterogeneous healthcare workforce across primary and secondary care settings.

Method: Healthcare professionals attending a 3-day Mindful Medicine Workshop (teaching participants to apply mindfulness principles to medicine) were invited to complete an online survey 1 week before the workshop and 3 months afterwards. Well-being was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Participants were also asked about engagement in mindfulness practices.

Results: At baseline, 80% of participants reported moderate to high stress, with a mean PSS score of 19.6. This decreased to 14.0 at 3 months (P < 0.001). Baseline MBI scores indicated high emotional exhaustion (EE) (21.2) and depersonalisation (DP) (12.4). At 3 months, EE decreased to 16.4 (P = 0.036) and DP to 9.9 (P = 0.20). Personal accomplishment increased from 37.5 to 40.6 (P = 0.033). Participants engaging in mindfulness practices weekly or more frequently increased from 43% at baseline to 71% at 3 months (P = 0.012).

Discussion: Participation in a 3-day Mindful Medicine Workshop was associated with reduced perceived stress and emotional exhaustion, and increased personal accomplishment and engagement in mindfulness practices at 3 months. These findings suggest that a brief, intensive mindfulness-based intervention may be a feasible approach to supporting the well-being of healthcare professionals working across primary and secondary care in Aotearoa New Zealand.