Impact of a University-Wide Interdisciplinary Mind-Body Skills Program on Student Mental and Emotional Well-Being

Abstract

Background Positive effects of mind-body skills programs on participant well-being have been reported in health professions students. The success seen with medical students at this university led to great interest in expanding the mind-body skills program so students in other disciplines could benefit from the program. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a 9-week mind-body skills program on the mental and emotional well-being of multidisciplinary students compared to controls. We also sought to determine if the program’s effects were sustained at 1-year follow-up. Methods A cross-sectional pre-post survey was administered online via SurveyMonkey to participants of a 9-week mind-body skills program and a control group of students from 7 colleges at a public university from 2017–2019. Students were assessed on validated measures of stress, positive/negative affect, resilience, depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbance, mindfulness, empathy, and burnout. Scores were analyzed between-groups and within-groups using bivariate and multivariate analyses. A 1-year follow-up was completed on a subset of participants and controls. Results 279 participants and 247 controls completed the pre-survey and post-survey (79% response rate; 71% female, 68% white, mean age = 25 years). Participants showed significant decreases in stress, negative affect, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and burnout, while positive affect, resilience, mindfulness, and empathy increased significantly ( P < .05). Only sleep disturbance showed a significant decrease in the control group. Follow-up in a subset of participants showed that only mindfulness remained elevated at 1-year ( P < .05), whereas the significant changes in other well-being measures were not sustained. Conclusion Participation in a 9-week mind-body skills program led to significant improvement in indicators of well-being in multidisciplinary students. A pilot 1-year follow-up suggests that effects are only sustained for mindfulness, but not other parameters. Future programming should focus on implementing mind-body skills booster sessions to help sustain the well-being benefits.

Enhancing Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being in College Students during COVID-19 through WeActive and WeMindful Interventions

“…Consistent with the present results, a short-term increase in resilience was found among forty-four participants who engaged in six weekly mind-body intervention sessions [ 34 ]. Similarly, a study found that after engaging in a 9 week mind-body intervention, 279 students showed a significant increase in resilience and mindfulness, compared to 247 students who did not engage in the intervention [ 35 ]. Mindfulness was sustained at one-year follow up, suggesting positive long-term impacts of the intervention [ 35 ].…”

“…Similarly, a study found that after engaging in a 9 week mind-body intervention, 279 students showed a significant increase in resilience and mindfulness, compared to 247 students who did not engage in the intervention [ 35 ]. Mindfulness was sustained at one-year follow up, suggesting positive long-term impacts of the intervention [ 35 ]. Contrary to the current findings, an intervention study with 232 medical students during one semester in New Zealand did not find a statistically significant difference between a weekly peer-led mindfulness group and the control group [ 36 ].…”

Implementing a Mind-Body Skills Group in Psychiatric Residency Training

“…The qualitative and open-ended comments from the survey suggest that the UAPD Mind-Body Skills Group participants found support among one another while exploring mind-body skills and their potential utility together. This outcome can counter a culture in which residents feel stressed, lonely, and devalued, and it can be a powerful antidote to the forces that contribute to burnout [ 16 ], a theme that appears in the research on the effects of mind-body skills programs on students [ 5 , 11 ]. One cohort of the UAPD Mind-Body Skills Group continued meeting to explore mind-body skills after the conclusion of the course.…”

“…Recent publications indicate that healthcare institutions have begun to adopt courses and programs that promote resilience in healthcare professionals [6][7][8][9][10][11]. As the body of research on interventions to combat burnout grows, it is important to assess multiple aspects of implementing such courses in addition to measuring effects on burnout.…”

“Your Wellness Program Is Interfering With My Well-Being”: Reducing the Unintended Consequences of Wellness Initiatives in Undergraduate Medical Education

“…Several undergraduate academic medical programs have proactively implemented student wellness programs and resources for the early prevention of burnout (Slavin, Schindler, and Chibnall, 2014;Drolet and Rodgers, 2010;Bitonte and DeSanto, 2014;Dyrbye, Satele and Shanafelt, 2017;Novak et al, 2020;Bagby-Stone, 2021). As the number and comprehensiveness of wellness initiatives have grown, so have the implementation strategies.…”