Mantra Meditation to Reduce Emotional Exhaustion in Emergency Department Staff

Summary

Work in a healthcare setting, such as in an emergency department (ED), while rewarding, can be harmful to psychological well being, as demonstrated by the high numbers of Irish hospital doctors experiencing burnout. Burnout has been linked to poor healthcare quality, medical errors and low patient satisfaction. To prevent further escalation of this problem, there is a need for effective stress-reducing intervention, such as meditation. Meditation practice has a confirmed positive effect on well being; through greater insight and awareness, meditation could help ED staff to become more attentive to and understanding of their patients' complaints, enhancing patient satisfaction and safety. However, based on current research it is difficult to distinguish between the effects of meditation on well being and those associated with bringing people together. There is therefore a need for a larger randomised study (RCT) including a participants that receive no meditation intervention.

This pilot study aims to examine the suitability of RCT to assess the effect of mantra meditation on burnout among ED staff. The investigators will also examine participant recruitment and retention, data management and outcomes assessment methods for well being, patient satisfaction and biological markers. There will be two groups: intervention group (meditation) and control group (non-meditation). 30 ED staff placed in the intervention group will discuss prescribed texts and learn mantra meditation over a 7-week period, accompanied by 20 minutes of daily meditation practice. 30 ED staff placed in the control group will work in the ED as usual and not receive any texts. Biological samples and questionnaires will be obtained at three time points. Participant feedback will also be sought through interviews. This study will highlight issues related to participant recruitment, retention, and adherence, questionnaires, logistics, and data management and pave the way for an efficient, effective, and larger study that will investigate mantra meditation as a means of reducing burnout in ED staff.

Conditions

• Psychological Stress

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mantra Meditation

Week 1: 20 minute meditation session. Prescribed text discussion. Encouraging a daily practice; the log, daily readings, timer etc. Week 2: Review of the practice followed by a 20 minute meditation period. Challenges to learning meditation. Second 20 minute meditation. Discussion of prescribed text. Week 3: 20 minute meditation. Review of Atul Gawande's lecture. Second 20 minute period of meditation. Discussion of prescribed text. Week 4: 20 minute meditation session. Discussion of prescribed text. A second 20 minute meditation. End of programme review.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Royal College of Physicians

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Dublin, Trinity College

  collaborator OTHER

• Health Service Executive, Ireland

  collaborator OTHER

• St. James's Hospital, Ireland

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Barry White, MD · University of Dublin, Trinity College

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-01-31

Primary Completion

2017-06-23

Completion

2017-12-31

Countries

• Ireland

Study Locations