Compassion-Oriented Mindfulness-Based Program and Health Professionals : A Single-Centered Pilot Study on Burnout

Abstract

This pre-post, single-centered study evaluates the effects of a compassion-oriented mindfulnessbased intervention on health professionals' quality of life. The intervention was conducted in an Italian general hospital in the province of Milan. Between 2014 and 2015, thirty-four health professionals operating in the territorial psychiatric services followed an 18-week Compassion-Oriented Mindfulness-based Program. The program involved the practice of mindfulness meditation combined with a psycho-educational training. This pilot study analysed the impact of the intervention on mood, quality of life, and burnout-related characteristics. Outcome measures included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. After the intervention, participants showed significantly decreased levels of depression, state anxiety, and emotional exhaustion. We found that an overall beneficial effect of the Compassion-Oriented Mindfulness-based Program existed in preventing burnout symptomatology. Non-evaluative and mindful attention was shown to improve stress resilience and coping strategies while simultaneously reducing worry and rumination. These results suggest that a compassion-oriented mindfulness program could prevent the development of anxiety and depression traits.

Burnout among Professionals Working in Corrections: A Two Stage Review

“…Bagaric and Markanovic (2020) [ 22 ] found a significant decrease in burnout symptoms reported by participants post-intervention; however, these results were not maintained at two month follow up. Marconi et al (2019) [ 18 ] examined an intervention consisting of biweekly classes consisting of compassion-oriented mindfulness-based exercises over the course of 18-weeks among 34 psychiatric health professionals recruited from the G. Salvini Hospital in Milan. The authors found that, post- intervention, there were statistically significant reductions in emotional exhaustion on the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI).…”

“…Márquez and colleagues (2021) [ 20 ] noted that, for a population of national police officers, mean scores for observing and not-reacting on the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) improved from pre- to post-intervention. There was also an increase in the observing and nonreactivity of inner experiences subscales on the FFMQ for psychiatric health professionals (Marconi et al, 2019) [ 18 ]. Similarly, Bagaric and Markanovic (2020) [ 22 ] found significant changes on the FFMQ observation, non-judgement, and non-response subscales post-intervention; however, changes were not observed in the description and awareness subscales among prison employees.…”

“…Additionally, these authors reported statistically significant changes on the CORE-OM subscales from pre- to post-intervention indicating a decrease in problems and increased well-being. Marconi and colleagues (2019) [ 18 ] specified that, for psychiatric health professionals post-intervention, there were statistically significant reductions in depression scores on the Beck Depression Inventory- II (BDI-II).…”

“…The existing literature regarding burnout interventions for forensic professionals working in inpatient and forensic settings includes training (Hill et al, 2010; Norman et al, 2020 [ 16 , 17 ] mindfulness-based interventions (Marconi et al, 2019; Kaplan et al, 2020; Márquez et al, 2021) [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], psychoeducation (Wampole, & Bressi, 2020; Bagaric & Markanovic, 2021) [ 21 , 22 ], stress management (Ekman, 2015) [ 23 ], and workshops (Rollins et la., 2016) [ 24 ]. Prior studies assessing burnout intervention programs for correctional staff have concluded that psychoeducational training was effective in reducing feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, cynicism, and in increasing feelings of general well-being (Hill et al, 2010; Norman et al, 2020; Bagaric et al, 2021) [ 16 , 17 , 22 ].…”

“…Prior studies assessing burnout intervention programs for correctional staff have concluded that psychoeducational training was effective in reducing feelings of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, cynicism, and in increasing feelings of general well-being (Hill et al, 2010; Norman et al, 2020; Bagaric et al, 2021) [ 16 , 17 , 22 ]. Historical findings also suggest that mindfulness-based interventions decrease feelings of depression, worry, anxiety, and perceived stress levels while promoting increased feelings of self-compassion (Marconi et al, 2019; Kaplan et al, 2020) [ 18 , 19 ]. While these results are promising, the studies involved focused solely on one type of correctional workers and did not integrate the various types of forensic professionals that operate in the field.…”