Improving the mental health and well-being of healthcare providers using the transcendental meditation technique during the COVID-19 pandemic: A parallel population study

Frontline Healthcare provider (HCP) burnout has dramatically increased due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Hospitals are supporting wellness programs and techniques to reduce burnout including the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. This study evaluated the use of TM on HCP symptoms of stress, burno...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2023-03, Vol.18 (3), p.e0265046-e0265046
Main Authors: Nestor, Mark S, Lawson, Alec, Fischer, Daniel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Biology and Life Sciences
Burnout
Care and treatment
COVID-19
Depersonalization
Emotions
Health aspects
Health care
Health Personnel
Health promotion
Hospitals
Humans
Insomnia
Lifestyles
Mechanics
Medical personnel
Medical research
Medicine and Health Sciences
Meditation
Mental depression
Mental Health
Pandemics
Patients
People and Places
Population studies
Psychological aspects
Psychology
Sleep disorders
Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
Social Sciences
Stress
Teaching
Transcendental meditation
Well being
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:Frontline Healthcare provider (HCP) burnout has dramatically increased due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Hospitals are supporting wellness programs and techniques to reduce burnout including the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. This study evaluated the use of TM on HCP symptoms of stress, burnout and wellness. A total of 65 HCPs at three South Florida hospitals were recruited and instructed in the TM technique which they practiced at home for 20 minutes twice a day. A parallel lifestyle as usual control group was enrolled. Validated measurement scales (Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey [MBI-HSS (MP)] and the Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well Being Scale (WEMWBS) were administered at baseline, 2 weeks, one and three months. No significant demographic differences were seen between the 2 groups; however, some baseline scales were higher in the TM group. TM average weekly session completion rate was very high at 83%. After 2-weeks, symptoms of somatization, depression, and anxiety in the TM group had all shown near 45% reductions, while insomnia, emotional exhaustion, and well-being had improved by 33%, 16%, and 11% respectively (P = 0.02 for somatization and < .001 for all others); no significant change was noted in the LAU group. At 3-months, in the TM group, the improvement in symptoms showed a mean reduction of in anxiety, 62%, somatization, 58%, depression, 50%, insomnia, 44%, emotional exhaustion 40%, depersonalization, 42%, and improvement of well-being 18% (for all p
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0265046