Preliminary Investigation of Workplace-Provided Compressed Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction with Pediatric Medical Social Workers.
Kelly Trowbridge, Lisa Mische Lawson, Stephanie Andrews, Jodi Pecora, Sabra Boyd
Health & social work November 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1093/hsw/hlx038 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Exploratory pre-post study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Pediatric health care social workers in a hospital workplace |
| Intervention | Compressed mindfulness-based stress reduction (cMBSR) |
| Duration | Two-day course |
| Measures | Professional Quality of Life Secondary Traumatic Stress subscale, Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale, Caring Efficacy Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mindfulness-based stress reduction Patient-centered care Pediatric social work |
| Key points | A two-day compressed mindfulness-based stress reduction course for pediatric health care social workers produced significant pre- to post-intervention differences on secondary traumatic stress, mindfulness, and caring self-efficacy. The authors report adequate evidence for the feasibility of the cMBSR design and call for a more rigorous study of its effects. |
Abstract
Mindfulness practices, including mindfulness meditation, show promise for decreasing stress among health care providers. This exploratory study investigates the feasibility of a two-day compressed mindfulness-based stress reduction (cMBSR) course provided in the hospital workplace with pediatric health care social workers. The standard course of Jon Kabat-Zinn's MBSR requires a participant commitment to eight weeks of instruction consisting of one 2.5-hour-per-week class, a single day retreat, and 45 minutes of practice for six of seven days each week. Commitments to family, work, caregiving, education, and so on, as well as limitations such as distance, may prevent health care providers from participating in a standard MBSR course. Using t tests, researchers measured the effect of cMBSR on (a) positive and negative experiences in pediatric social work, (b) perceived stress, (c) mindfulness, and (d) caring self-efficacy (as a component of patient- and family-centered care). Results included significant differences between the pre- and post-intervention outcome variables on the Professional Quality of Life Secondary Traumatic Stress subscale, the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale, and the Caring Efficacy Scale. Findings found adequate evidence for the feasibility of cMBSR design and for a need of a more rigorous study of the effects of the cMBSR intervention.
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 6
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program for reducing anxiety and depression in hospital staff during a pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Psychiatric Research 2025
- Enhancing psychological health and cognitive inhibition in college students: insights from mindfulness training and high-intensity interval training. Frontiers in Psychology 2025
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for Healthcare Workers International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Scope 2025
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for psychological health and well-being in nonclinical samples: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Stress Management November 1, 2020
- The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on the Psychological Functioning of Healthcare Professionals: a Systematic Review Mindfulness September 24, 2020
and 1 more in the library
Cites 13
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Association of an Educational Program in Mindful Communication With Burnout, Empathy, and Attitudes Among Primary Care Physicians JAMA September 22, 2009
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Health Care Professionals: Results From a Randomized Trial. International Journal of Stress Management May 1, 2005
- What Do We Really Know About Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction? Psychosomatic Medicine 2002
- 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
and 8 more in the library