Belongingness in Nursing Through Mindfulness - BEING Mindful: A Pilot Study
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of New Mexico
- Enrollment
- 32
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Belongingness
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The long-term goal of this study is to develop a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) program to reduce stress and burnout while increasing belongingness and connectedness among faculty and staff at the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing (CON).
The central hypothesis is that the MBI intervention will improve psychosocial outcomes (sense of belonging) and physiological outcomes (heart rate variability, HRV) among CON faculty and staff. The specific aims are to:
Aim 1: Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of MBIs (meditation or yoga) through participant interviews, recruitment, retention, and adherence rates.
Aim 2: Assess the preliminary effects of MBIs on psychosocial (burnout, stress, anxiety, sense of belonging) and physiological (HRV) outcomes. The hypothesis predicts improvements in both psychosocial and physiological measures post-intervention.
Researchers will compare meditation to yoga to see if one improves psychosocial and physiological outcomes better that the other.
Participants will be asked to:
- participate in meditation or yoga two times per week
- complete surveys
- use an app on their phone to answer short surveys
- wear a smart device
Detailed Description
Goal The primary goal of this study is to develop a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) program aimed at reducing stress and burnout while enhancing a sense of belongingness and connectedness among faculty and staff at the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing (CON). This pilot project is an essential step toward achieving the long-term goal by evaluating the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of MBIs in an academic nursing environment.
Hypothesis and Specific Aims
The central hypothesis is that mindfulness-based interventions will lead to improvements in both psychosocial outcomes (such as sense of belonging, stress, anxiety, and burnout) and physiological outcomes (measured by heart rate variability, HRV) among CON faculty and staff. To assess this, the study aims to:
Aim 1: Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of mindfulness interventions (meditation or yoga) for CON faculty and staff.
Feasibility will be determined by recruitment, retention, and adherence rates (percentage of training sessions attended).
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Non Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to — (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •18 years of age or older
- •in general good health
- •employed as College of Nursing (CON) faculty or CON staff
- •reside in the state of New Mexico and able to attend 6 weeks of in-person research sessions
- •willing to complete research assessments
- •own a smart phone
Exclusion Criteria
- •major medical illness making individual unable to participate in the research
Arms & Interventions
Mindfulness Meditation
Meditation is a practice of mental exercises designed to increase focus and cultivate a desire to relieve suffering in self and other. Many religious traditions have a form of meditation based practice. This study will focus on two forms of meditation both of which are focused on right mindfulness: 1) zazen which is a seated meditation primarily focused on the breath, posture, and sensation without attaching judgment. This is meant to develop awareness, equanimity, and insight, and 2) kinhin which is a walking meditation which is meant to connect mindfulness in one's movement by synchronizing breath and movement. It also focuses on development of awareness, equanimity, and insight. The two activities combined help the individual to nurture a thread of mindfulness. Instructors have developed a protocol to standardize the delivery of the meditation. Participants are requested to attend two meditation sessions per week.
Intervention: Yoga (Behavioral)
Mindfulness Yoga
Yoga is a holistic, multidimensional practice. There are three fundamental limbs of yoga: 1) breathwork (pranyanma), 2) physical postures with breathing techniques (asanas), and 3) meditation and visualization (Dhyana).) Yoga practice unites the mind, body and spirit leading to psychophysiological changes within the individual including improved self-regulation ability and stress response, mood, well-being, and quality of life. Yoga instructors will offer modifications and props such as blocks to ensure sessions are accessible to individuals of various abilities and minimize the risk of injury. Instructors have developed a detailed manual to standardize the delivery of the yoga intervention. Participants are requested to attend two yoga sessions per week.
Intervention: Meditation (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Belongingness
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks
Belonging will be assessed using the 8-item Sense of Belonging Scale (SBS). The SBS measures the sense of belongingness or feelings of acceptance and inclusion in a community experienced by an individual.21 The SBS was developed to be adapted to specific contexts.21 Using the method described by Mellinger and Park (2023), we adapted the scale to be specific to UNM CON faculty and staff. Response categories range from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Responses are summed and the mean is calculated with higher scores corresponding to a stronger sense of belonging.22 The SBS-8 demonstrated high levels of reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .96.21
Burnout
Time Frame: Baseline and 6 weeks
Assessment of burnout: The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory is a valid and reliable, 19- item, self-report measure of burnout.24 Originally designed to measure burnout in among human service workers, it includes 3 scales. The personal burnout scale has six items and measures prolonged physical and emotional exhaustion. The work-related burnout scale has seven items that measure prolonged physical and emotional exhaustion secondary to work. The third scale, client-related burnout, has six items that measure burnout related to working with clients (client may be patients, students, service recipients). Each subscale can be scored separately.24 The three subscales have demonstrated good reliability and criterion related validity in a variety of samples.24,25
Secondary Outcomes
- Stress(Baseline and 6 weeks)
- Anxiety(Baseline and 6 weeks)
- Trait Mindfulness(Baseline and 6 weeks)
- State mindfulness(6 weeks)
- Heart Rate Variability (HRV)(6 weeks)