Mindfulness as a self-care strategy for healthcare professionals to reduce stress and implicit bias

Healthcare Professionals are under an immense amount of stress given many recent events, including the pandemic. Increased stress can not only negatively impact our physical and emotional health, but also has the potential to increase implicit biases. Implicit biases are unconscious and unintentiona...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of interprofessional education & practice 2023-03, Vol.30, p.100598, Article 100598
Main Authors: Murphy, Jackie, Farrell, Kathryn, Kealy, Mary Beth, Kristiniak, Susan
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Healthcare Professionals are under an immense amount of stress given many recent events, including the pandemic. Increased stress can not only negatively impact our physical and emotional health, but also has the potential to increase implicit biases. Implicit biases are unconscious and unintentional stereotypes that influence behavior or choices. In healthcare, the implicit biases held by healthcare professionals can negatively impact patient experiences and outcomes resulting in healthcare disparities. Mindfulness, or intentionally paying attention in the present moment, can be used as a self-care strategy to support both emotional and physical health and uncover and reduce implicit biases. Recent research illustrates that even short mindfulness practices can reduce stress and implicit biases. The following three simple strategies will be described in this article: Mindfulness Through Uncoloring Thoughts, Loving-kindness Meditation, and Noticing Thoughts Exercise.
ISSN:2405-4526
2405-4526
DOI:10.1016/j.xjep.2022.100598