Author ORCID Identifier
0000-0003-2630-5577
Date Available
4-5-2022
Year of Publication
2022
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Committee Chair
Dr. Sheila Melander
Clinical Mentor
Dr. Lee Anne Walmsley
Committee Member
Dr. James Norton
Committee Member
Dr. Chizimuzo Okoli
Abstract
Background: Acute care nursing staff have recently faced increasing rates of anxiety, stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout. Nursing burnout is directly linked to patient outcomes, nurse retention, and the resilience of our nurses. Therefore, it is in the best interest of hospital organizations to focus efforts on the well-being of the nursing workforce. A recent innovative technology to prevent burnout teaches mindfulness through the utilization of smartphone applications. There is limited evidence regarding the implementation and impact of brief mindfulness interventions on intra-professional acute care providers.
Methods: A pretest-posttest design with a midpoint evaluation was utilized in this pilot study. Data analysis was completed using descriptive and inferential statistics via SPSS. The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised, Perceived Stress Scale and Brief Resilience Scale were used to measure the impact of the intervention on participants.
Results: Thirty-one intra-professional acute care nursing staff participated in the pre-intervention and eight completed the entire study. In the repeated measures analysis, there were no statistically significant changes in scores on the Brief Resilience Scale across the three timeframes (F = 0.64, p = .49). For perceived stress, there were statistically significant decreases over time (F = 10.6, p = .002). There were also statistically significant increases in mindfulness scores across time (F = 4.8, p = .039). Finally, for personal burnout, there were statistically significant decreases over time (F = 11.8, p = .007), with higher scores representing lower burnout.
Conclusions: Mindfulness-based smartphone applications may promote the health and well-being of nursing staff in an acute care setting. If nursing providers can foster practices to promote resilience, they will be better equipped to manage the increasing demands within our healthcare environments. As our healthcare systems continue to evolve in response to pandemics and become more complex, combatting burnout among acute care nursing providers is a top priority as we move toward the future.
Recommended Citation
Brouwer, Kent, "Caring for Ourselves Before We Care for Others: A Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Acute Care Nursing Staff" (2022). DNP Projects. 366.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/dnp_etds/366
