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Exploring how mindfulness enhances attentiveness: a qualitative study with South African mental health nurses.

Rudo Ramalisa-Buḓeli, Emmerentia du Plessis, Suegnét Scholtz

BMC Nursing May 20, 2025 DOI: 10.1186/s12912-025-03008-w (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Qualitative constructivist grounded theory Peer reviewed
Sample size 11
Population Nurses working in South African psychotherapy wards
Intervention mindfulness practices
Topics Meditation
Keywords Attentiveness Mental health nurse Nurse–patient relationship Self-awareness Conscious attention Present moment awareness Self-understanding Patient interaction Therapeutic relationship Care relationship Patient engagement Psychiatric nursing Behavioral health nursing Professional care Patient care
Citations 2
Key findings Mental health nurses who practice mindfulness become more attentive and develop deeper self-understanding, which conveys benefits to patients.

Abstract

This qualitative, constructivist grounded theory addressed the gap in understanding how mental health nurses cultivate attentiveness through mindfulness practices. This was done by examining attentiveness as both an expression of care and a facilitator of human connectedness. Constructivist grounded theory. The study population consisted of nurses working in South African psychotherapy wards, where mindfulness was integrated into daily care practices. Three psychiatric hospitals in South Africa were selected, and 11 participants were recruited via nonprobability snowball sampling method. The data were collected between June and November 2021 via virtual and face-to-face individual interviews supplemented with field notes. Three categories of cultivating attentiveness through mindfulness practices were identified: foundations for fostering attentiveness through mindfulness; mindfulness practices; and the outcomes derived from such practices. These categories exhibited interconnectedness by featuring shared ideas and overlapping themes and subthemes. When mental health nurses in this study practice mindfulness, they are attentive and develop a deeper understanding of themselves which conveys to patients.

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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Meditation