An evaluation of a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention for critical care nursing staff: A quality improvement project.

Abstract

Critical care is a stressful workplace for nursing staff. Mindfulness-based stress reduction programmes are an emerging concept to manage stress in nursing, but little is known about the impact of such interventions, especially in critical care settings. A quality improvement initiative was introduced to explore the effects of a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention on a cohort of critical care nurses in terms of quality of life, perceived stress, mindfulness awareness, and sickness and absence rates. A pre-/post-interventional design recruited nurses (n=25) working within a critical care unit to undertake the intervention. Participants were asked to complete psychometric questionnaires at three time points, pre-course (0 months), immediately post-course (8 weeks), and at a follow-up point at month 4. Sickness and absence rates were analysed to detect differences pre- and post-course. Retention rates were ascertained by numbers of participants completing the psychometric tests. Overall, positive correlations were found when comparing pre-course vs 8-week mean scores of satisfaction with life (P< .001), reduced perceived stress (P< .001), and mindfulness awareness (P= .002). Bootstrap analysis of the data confirmed that positive outcome measures were more significant at the 4-month mark in reduced perceived stress and mindfulness awareness (P< .001) compared with the satisfaction with life scale (P= .41). There was no significant change in sickness rates pre- and post-intervention (P= .69). The retention rate was 70% at month 4. Mindfulness training is a feasible and accepted intervention that critical care nurses may benefit from in terms of quality of life, perceived stress, and mindfulness awareness. This has positive outcomes for staff and patients.