The effect of a brief mindfulness-based stress reduction program on strengthening awareness of medical errors and risks among nursing students.
Merve Tarhan, Esengül Elibol
Nurse Education in Practice July 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.nepr.2023.103655 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study with a control group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 78 |
| Population | Third-year nursing students at a private, accredited nursing program in Istanbul, Türkiye |
| Intervention | Brief mindfulness-based stress reduction program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Medical errors Nursing students Patient safety Simulation |
| Key findings | The intervention group improved significantly from pre-test to post-test on medical error attitudes and on the number of medical errors and risks in a simulation environment (both p < 0.001), while self-confidence and satisfaction showed no significant difference between groups (p > 0.05). The authors suggest a brief mindfulness-based stress reduction program strengthens nursing students' awareness of medical errors and risks. |
Abstract
Healthcare professionals' awareness of medical errors and risks results in effective medical error reporting and patient safety. Mindfulness has positive effects on strengthening attention and awareness. However, little is known about the use of mindfulness in patient safety education among nursing students. This study aimed to examine if a brief mindfulness-based stress reduction program would have a beneficial impact on (a) medical error attitudes, (b) the number of medical errors and risks in a simulation environment, and (c) self-confidence and satisfaction among nursing students. A quasi-experimental design with a control group was conducted with 78 third-year nursing students at a private, accredited, nursing program in Istanbul, Türkiye. There was a statistically significant improvement in the intervention group between the pre-test and post-test for medical error attitudes (p < 0.001), and the number of medical errors and risks in a simulation environment (p < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in the intervention and control groups for self-confidence and satisfaction (p > 0.05). These results suggest that a brief mindfulness-based stress reduction program positively strengthens nursing students' awareness of medical errors and risks.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 2
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Implement the Psychological Well-Being of Nursing Students: A Scoping Review. Healthcare January 4, 2026
- A Systematic Review of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Its Effects on Mental Health and Academic Performance in University Students The Open Psychology Journal July 21, 2025
Cites 6
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- Improving the culture of safety on a high-acuity inpatient child/adolescent psychiatric unit by mindfulness-based stress reduction training of staff. Journal of child and adolescent psychiatric nursing : official publication of the Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nurses, Inc November 2017
and 1 more in the library