The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Lowering Stress Level in Medical Students

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event The Effect of Mindfulness Meditation on Lowering Stress Level in Medical Students Dian Wulandari1*, Darmawati A. Indraswari2, Yosef Purwoko2 and Ainun R. Gumay2 1 Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University, Indonesia 2 Faculty of Medicine, Diponegoro University, Department of Physiology, Indonesia Background: Many studies have reported that the prevalence of psychological stress among medical students during education was high. However, there has not been an effective and efficient method to help medical students coping with stress in that particular situation. Mindfulness meditation has been practiced worldwide in any level of society on lowering stress. This study aims to determine the effect of mindfulness meditation on lowering stress level in medical students. Methods: This is an experimental study with pre- and post-test control group design. Thirty medical students of first year were included in the study were divided into two groups and filled the cognitive test anxiety scale (CTAS) and Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HARS) as the pretest. The intervention group of fifteen students did a mindfulness meditation program in fourteen days using meditation application in android/ios. While the control group of fifteen students did not do a mindfulness meditation program in fourteen days or any similar activities. Post-test for both groups were applied after the intervention with CTAS and HARS. The stress level were calculated using the T test and Wilcoxon test. Result: There was a significant decrease in both CTAS and HARS after doing mindfulness meditation in intervention group compared to before doing mindfulness meditation. Meanwhile there was not a significant decrease in both CTAS and HARS in control group. Conclusions: Mindfulness meditation helps lowering the stress level in medical students. Keywords: stress, mindfulness meditation, medical students, CTAS, HARS.