Yoga, mindfulness, and visual thinking strategies as a tool to reduce stress and burnout in healthcare workers: results of a single-center clinical trial
摘要
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, proclaimed a global pandemic due to the unfortunate global spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), which was discovered in early 2020. The lives and physical and mental health of all workers have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19. Healthcare workers (HCWs) experience significant levels of workplace stress, which is linked to worsening psychological health, lower care quality, and lower patient satisfaction. A comprehensive evaluation of the evidence on the benefits of yoga and mindfulness for healthcare professionals’ stress management was produced after a thorough investigation of the literature. Other research has over time shown how beneficial visual thinking techniques are for managing and lowering stress and burnout in healthcare professionals. In the present study, a single-center randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the impact of yoga, mindfulness-based intervention, and visual thinking techniques on the mental health of HCWs at a hospital in Rome. This trial adheres to the 1975 Helsinki Declaration, as updated in 2000. Informed consent was requested from the study participants.
Subject and methodsHealthcare personnel from the teaching hospital “Policlinico Umberto I” in Rome were chosen for this investigation. In several course editions, the intervention was given to the hospital’s doctors, nurses, psychologists, and technicians. Under Italian law, an explicit requirement to assess work-related stress hazards was established by Legislative Decree 81/2008. It is the employer’s duty to assess any risks to workers’ health and safety, including those brought on by stress at work. The selected staff members were expected to complete an RSL (Workers’ Safety Representative) training course. The RLS course is a mandatory training program for workers. It takes place outside of regular business hours because it is a mandatory course that enlistees must finish in order to obtain credit, although this was not expected to have an effect on enrollment or dropout rates. As a course, the intervention met once a week for 4 weeks. The four identified interventions were yoga, visual thinking strategies (VTS), and mindfulness-based intervention (MBI). Before and after the health promotion program was implemented, the levels of anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS] questionnaire), client burnout, personal and work burnout (Copenhagen burnout inventory), health-related quality of life in terms of mental and physical health (mental component score [MCS] and physical component score [PCS] using the Short Form [SF]-12 questionnaire), and work-related stress (Karasek 15-item questionnaire) were assessed for each of the participants.
ResultsResults involve 82 HCWs (78% female; most aged 51–60 years; 48.8% nurses and 32.9% physicians). These results indicate best performances of the yoga and mindfulness courses and good performance of the VTS in reducing work-related stress, anxiety, and depression, compared to the non-intervention group.
ConclusionThese days, there is considerable interest in and significance for research on worker well-being. The clinical research results showed that the intervention group participants’ mood, emotional stability, and mental health had improved, which is of particular concern during pandemics. The various interventions were developed with the intention of putting the participating healthcare professionals’ psychological talents into practice. In order to enhance employee well-being, employers in the health sector want to think about introducing workplace wellness programs that incorporate these strategies. Effective interventions that can enhance the psychological functioning of HCWs include yoga, MBI, and VTS.