Date of this Version

9-11-2021

Document Type

DNP Project

Abstract

Background: Approximately- 59 million healthcare workers worldwide provide healthcare at any given time. Many of these workers experienced increased stress and daily adversity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purpose: The purpose of this DNP project was to evaluate if the use of a newly developed, evidenced-based mindfulness meditation program could help front-line healthcare workers manage perceived stress. There were two specific DNP project aims. The first was to develop and implement an evidence-based mindfulness meditation program to help front-line healthcare workers manage pandemic-related stress during the pandemic. The second aim was to evaluate the use and impact of the web-based mindfulness meditation program on perceived stress among participants. Methodology: One group of primary care healthcare providers at a south Florida clinic were assessed before, and two weeks after, the mindfulness meditation program. A survey was administered remotely. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a psychological instrument, was used to measure perceived stress among participants. Additionally, survey items were developed to assess familiarity with mindfulness practice and the frequency of use of the mindfulness practice. Participant demographics included age, gender, and professional role. Intervention: A 30-minute mindfulness program that focused on meditation techniques was available on YouTube for a two-week period. Results: Eleven healthcare workers participated in the project. Data were available for 11 participants before the intervention and 8 participants post-intervention. The participants were QUALITY IMPROVEMENT PROJECT primarily women (n = 10). The mean PSS score prior to the intervention was 21.90 (SD = 8.05), and after the intervention the PSS score was 17.37 (SD = 9.11). Both mean scores indicate moderate levels of stress. There were no statistically significant differences pre versus post-intervention in PSS mean scores or individual PSS items. Following exposure to the web-based intervention, most of the participants, 57% (n = 4), found the mindfulness program to be helpful “fairly often,” while 28% (n = 2) found it to be very helpful. Conclusion: Web-based mindfulness meditation programs have been proven to be well-received, feasible, and effective in decreasing perceived stress among healthcare workers. Administrators should consider making mindfulness meditation programs available to employees to address stress, especially during a pandemic. Keywords: stress, stress management, pandemic, mindfulness, meditation technique

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