Abstract
BackgroundWork stress is a common problem among the health personnel of the Spanish National Health System. The objective of this paper is to assess the state of mindfulness among Spanish primary care providers and to evaluate its potential relationship with work stress and basic labor and sociodemographic characteristics.MethodsCross-sectional, multi-centric study. Primary care nurses, teachers, teaching collaborators and residents assigned to six Spanish Family Medicine/Family and Community Care Departments were invited to participate (n = 475). A template was designed in Google Forms, including sociodemographic and work-related variables. The state of mindfulness was measured with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), while work-related stress was measured using an ordinal scale ranging from 0 to 10 points. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were carried out, as well as bivariate and multivariate statistics.ResultsThe mean age of participants was 40,14 ± 13.12 (range:23–65 years); 66.9% were women, 42.5% internal medicine residents, 29.3% family physicians, and 20.2% nurses. More than half (54.5%) knew about mindfulness, with 24.0% have received training on it, and 22.5% were usual practitioners. The average level of mindfulness was 127.18 ± 15.45 (range: 89–177). The average score of stress at work was 6.00 ± 2.44; 49.9% (range: 0–10). 49.9% of participants scored 7 or more on the stress at work scale. There was an inverse correlation between the levels of mindfulness (FFMQ total score) and work-related stress (Spearman’s r = − 0.155, p = 0.003). Significant relationships between the mindfulness practice and the level of mindfulness (F = 29.80, p < 0.001), as well as between the mindfulness practice and the level of work-related stress (F = 9.68, p = 0.042), were also found.ConclusionsLevels of mindfulness in primary care health providers were in line with those levels observed in other groups of health professionals. Half of all of the primary care providers suffered from a high degree of stress. Although weak, inverse relationships were observed between levels of mindfulness and stress at work, with lower values of stress at work among those who practiced mindfulness.Trial registrationNCT03629457.
Highlights
Work stress is a common problem among the health personnel of the Spanish National Health System
Levels of mindfulness in primary care health providers were in line with those levels observed in other groups of health professionals
We have barely found studies conducted in our field that examine the state of mindfulness in primary care healthcare professionals, on the one hand, with the potential relationship between the knowledge, training and the practice of mindfulness; and on the other, with the level of work-related stress perceived [9, 11]
Summary
Work stress is a common problem among the health personnel of the Spanish National Health System. A great number of healthcare professionals complain about their work conditions: excess of health care pressure, increasingly demanding users seeking treatment for their health problems and needs, a lack of sufficient time for training and re-training, as well as the perceived lack of support by managers and their superiors [1,2,3]. The goal is for the young training doctor or nurse, to take on responsibilities in different areas of competence, both healthcare, teaching and research, in a progressive manner, stress is inevitable, especially in the emergency department [7]. An important figure in the training process of the RIS is the personal tutor. Carrying out this task of teaching implies a major work load in addition to the regular everyday work activity
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