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Designing a Resilience Program for Critical Care Nurses.

Meredith Mealer, Rachel M. Hodapp, David Conrad, Sona Dimidjian, Barbara O Rothbaum, Marc Moss

AACN advanced critical care 2017 DOI: 10.4037/aacnacc2017252 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative study Peer reviewed
Sample size 33
Population Critical care nurses who were members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
Intervention Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Topics Meditation
Keywords Cognitive-behavioral therapy Focus groups Resilience
Key findings Focus groups with 33 critical care nurses identified barriers to program adherence, incentives for adherence, preferred instructor qualifications, and ICU-specific issues relevant to a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy resilience intervention. The authors report that this feedback was used to modify the pilot intervention and argue that institutions designing resilience programs for ICU nurses must understand the barriers and concerns of their local ICU nurses.

Abstract

Workplace stress can affect job satisfaction, increase staff turnover and hospital costs, and reduce quality of patient care. Highly resilient nurses adapt to stress and use a variety of skills to cope effectively. To gain data on a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy resilience intervention for intensive care unit nurses to see if the intervention program would be feasible and acceptable. Focus-group interviews were conducted by videoconference with critical care nurses who were members of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The interview questions assessed the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program to reduce burnout syndrome in intensive care unit nurses. Thirty-three nurses participated in 11 focus groups. Respondents identified potential barriers to program adherence, incentives for adherence, preferred qualifications of instructors, and intensive care unit-specific issues to be addressed. The mindfulness-based cognitive therapy pilot intervention was modified to incorporate thematic categories that the focus groups reported as relevant to intensive care unit nurses. Institutions that wish to design a resilience program for intensive care unit nurses to reduce burnout syndrome need an understanding of the barriers and concerns relevant to their local intensive care unit nurses.

Comparable studies

Other qualitative studies on meditation, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists Western Buddhist meditation practitioners and experts in Theravāda, Zen, and Tibetan... 2017 Qualitative study with mixed-methods
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction on Nurse Stress and Burnout Nurses in a hospital system 2004 Implementation study with mixed methods
An exploratory mixed methods study of the acceptability and effectiveness of mindfulness -based cognitive therapy for patients with active depression and anxiety in primary care Primary care patients with recurrent depression or recurrent depression and anxiety 2006 Exploratory mixed methods study n = 13
A qualitative study of mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy for depression Participants in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in a mental-health context 2001 Qualitative study n = 7
Effortless awareness: using real time neurofeedback to investigate correlates of posterior cingulate cortex activity in meditators' self-report Meditators 2013 Qualitative study using grounded theory methodology

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