Effects of Loving-Kindness Meditation on Doctors' Mindfulness, Empathy, and Communication Skills

What's the role of kindness in the healthcare context? A scoping review

INTRODUCTION

The role of kindness in healthcare is receiving increased attention. Indeed, international research shows that a culture of kindness has a positive impact on healthcare organizations, healthcare staff members, and patients. Benefits include better patient outcomes, as well as a humanized work environment, which helps to prevent stress and burnout among healthcare workers. Studies across different settings suggest that healthcare managers need to foster not only technical and organizational skills, but also social skills such as empathy and kindness. The purpose of this scoping review is to provide an overview of the current research landscape regarding initiatives based on acts of kindness in healthcare organizations. We will also explore whether this is a topic of interest to academics, which countries have conducted the most research on the subject, the practical implications for healthcare management, and potential directions for future research.

METHODS

This scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. A search was performed in the electronic databases ScienceDirect, Pubmed and Web of Science, to identify studies published in English between 1994 and 2023 describing or evaluating kindness-based interventions in the healthcare context. Based on the predefined eligibility criteria, screening and studies selection were performed. Data were extracted and analyzed descriptively to summarize the evidence.

RESULTS

19 studies were analyzed and included in the review. The article assessment revealed four categories: 1) organizational culture; 2) burnout reduction and staff well-being; 3) staff education / training; and 4) communication and patient experience. Kindness in healthcare is a relatively new topic, but of great scientific interest. The countries most interested in the topic are English speaking (with a particular interest in category 2) and Western European, and the methodology most commonly used to investigate this topic is qualitative.

CONCLUSIONS

The need for additional research on kindness in healthcare arises from a complex and dynamic healthcare environment, where the concept of kindness holds the potential to revolutionize the quality of care and the well-being of healthcare providers. The interest of the various countries in the 4 thematic categories proposed by the study and the performance results of healthcare organizations promoting kindness compared to others without this focus also bear further consideration.

Improving general practitioners' approaches to functional somatic syndromes: a pilot training program with a focus on compassion and communication

BACKGROUND

Functional somatic syndromes are common in primary care and represent a challenge for general practitioners (GPs), with a risk of deterioration in the doctor-patient relationship, and of compassion fatigue on the part of the physician. Little is known about how to teach better management of these symptoms.

METHODS

The aim of our scientific team was to develop a training session about functional somatic syndromes for GPs, with the objective to improve the therapeutic attitude of the participants. The first session of the training was constructed as a pilot session, followed by a qualitative study to complete content validation. The educational framework of the training session is multimodal and includes theory on the pathophysiology of functional somatic syndromes, communication skills, and introspective learning including an introduction to compassion meditation. 20 physicians attended the pilot training session. 10 of them participated in the qualitative study. The qualitative study consisted of five individual semi-structured interviews and one focus group of five persons, investigating the impact of the training session on the clinical practices, as perceived by the participants. The interviews were analysed through an inductive method inspired by Malterud's systematic text condensation strategy.

RESULTS

We identified three main themes in the responses of the participants: (1) the crucial issue of putting a name to chronic psychosomatic suffering; (2) the importance of self-compassion for physicians; (3) changes in therapeutic attitude fostering a reconciliation between "self" and "care". Participants expressed a need for more regular meetings of this type. The opportunity to share their negative feelings about therapeutic relationship within a peer group, with compassionate supervision of the trainers, seemed to play an important role in the improvement of their self-compassion CONCLUSION: A multimodal teaching session seems to help the physicians to feel more comfortable and competent when treating patients with functional somatic syndromes. Including compassion meditation in the teaching seems a promising tool to prevent compassion fatigue.

Effects of meditation on health promoting protective factors of persons with cardiovascular disease-a quasi-experimental pilot study with pre-post comparison

Background

The aim of this pilot study is to determine, in the context of a controlled intervention study, whether the health-promoting personal protective factors of sense of coherence, resilience, and self-compassion are strengthened by the practice of Metta meditation in individuals with cardiovascular disease. The interactions between mind and body play a pivotal role in health and mortality. Lifestyle factors and especially stress also play a decisive role in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. With health-promoting personal protective factors, which can be actively formed over the entire lifespan, stressors can be managed more adequately.

Methods

Data collection will be conducted as part of a controlled nonrandomized longitudinal pilot intervention study that will enrol individuals with cardiovascular disease (n=29). After the first interview, a 12-week Metta meditation course will start for the intervention group (IG) (n=9), while the control group (CG) (n=20) will receive no intervention. The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure® Questionnaire (MLHFQ), the 13-item Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), the Resilience Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale short form (SCS-sf) German version, the German version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the Stress Coping subscale of the Stress and Coping Inventory (SCI) are used at both measurement time (MT) points. In addition, blood pressure parameters are collected. Furthermore, selected literature will be consulted to integrate the evaluated data into existing research findings.

Results

The health-promoting personal competencies of sense of coherence, resilience, and self-compassion were not strengthened by the practice of Metta meditation in individuals with cardiovascular disease. However, there was a significant reduction in perceived stress {F[1, 27] =4.351, P=0.047, f=0.402} and improved stress coping skills {F[1, 26] =6.790, P=0.02, f=0.511} in the IG. Furthermore, the frequency of rehospitalization {F[1, 27] =5.607, P=0.03, f=0.456} differed significantly in the pre-post comparison.

Conclusions

Due to the insufficient size of the sample, the results are only exploratory in nature and should therefore only be considered preliminary. Also, the correlations between the significant changes in the parameters and Metta meditation cannot be finally assessed. For this purpose, further studies with larger samples are needed.

Mindfulness training in healthcare professions: A scoping review of systematic reviews

PURPOSE

The effectiveness of mindfulness training (MT) on mental health and wellbeing in different groups and contexts is well-established. However, the effect of MT on different healthcare professionals' (HCPs) mental health and wellbeing needs to be synthesised, along with a focus on outcomes that are specifically relevant to healthcare settings. The aim of this study is to summarise the effect of MT interventions on HCPs' mental health and wellbeing, to explore its effect on communication skills and to identify potential gaps in the literature.

METHODS

A scoping review of systematic reviews (SRs) investigating MT interventions in HCPs was conducted. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted from database inception to 22 February 2023 on Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Scopus, Cochrane (CENTRAL), EBSCHOhost CINAHL, Ovid PsycINFO, Web of Science (Core Collection), OpenGrey, TRIP Database and Google Scholar. Snowballing of reference lists and hand-searching were utilised. Risk of bias and quality of included SRs were assessed using the ROBIS and AMSTAR2 tools.

RESULTS

Sixteen SRs were included in this review. We found substantial evidence for MT interventions improving mental health and wellbeing across different HCPs, with the exception of burnout, where evidence is mixed. There is a paucity of SRs evaluating communication skills other than empathy. However, the available evidence is suggestive of improvements in self-reported empathy. Details of MT fidelity and dosage are largely absent in the SRs, as is study populations from representative EDI samples.

CONCLUSIONS

Synthesis of SRs suggests that MT improves mental health and wellbeing in HCPs. The exception is burnout, where results are inconclusive. Insufficient data exists to evaluate effects of MT on the full spectrum of communication skills. Other HCPs than medicine and nursing are inadequately represented. Further research is required that considers the specific target population of HCPs and MT curriculum, and reports on fidelity, dosage and the effects on communication skills.

The effects of loving-kindness meditation on doctors' communication anxiety, trust, calling and defensive medicine practice

OBJECTIVE

The study investigated the effects of loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on doctors' communication anxiety, trust, calling, and defensive medicine practice.

METHODS

This study recruited 94 doctors from a hospital in China, randomized them to an LKM group (n = 47), and waited for the control group (n = 47). The experimental group accepted an 8-week LKM interference while the waiting for the control group underwent no interference. Researchers measured four major variable factors (communication anxiety, trust, calling, and defensive medicine practice) before and after the LKM intervention.

RESULTS

In the experimental group, trust, and calling were significantly higher, and communication anxiety, and defensive medicine practice were significantly lower than in the control group. In the control group, there were no noticeable differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study demonstrate that LKM may help to improve trust, and calling, and reduce communication anxiety and defensive medicine practice. The finding of LKM's effect extends the understanding of the integrative effects of positive psychology on the decrease of defensive medicine practice.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ChiCTR2300074568. Registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), 9 August, 2023.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on the well-being of healthcare workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Growing evidence attests to the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), but their effectiveness for healthcare workers remains uncertain.

AIMS

To evaluate the evidence for MBIs in improving healthcare workers' psychological well-being.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted on Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials up to 31 August 2022 using the keywords 'healthcare worker', 'doctor', 'nurse', 'allied health', 'mindfulness', 'wellness', 'workshop' and 'program'. Randomised controlled trials with a defined MBI focusing on healthcare workers and quantitative outcome measures related to subjective or psychological well-being were eligible for inclusion. R V.4.0.3 was used for data analysis, with the standardised mean difference as the primary outcome, employing DerSimonian and Laird's random effects model. Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework was used to evaluate the quality of evidence. Cochrane's Risk of Bias 2 tool was used to assess the risk of bias in the included studies.

RESULTS

A total of 27 studies with 2506 participants were included, mostly from the USA, involving various healthcare professions. MBIs such as stress reduction programmes, apps, meditation and training showed small to large effects on anxiety, burnout, stress, depression, psychological distress and job strain outcomes of the participants. Positive effects were also seen in self-compassion, empathy, mindfulness and well-being. However, long-term outcomes (1 month or longer postintervention) varied, and the effects were not consistently sustained.

CONCLUSIONS

MBIs offer short-term benefits in reducing stress-related symptoms in healthcare workers. The review also highlights limitations such as intervention heterogeneity, reduced power in specific subgroup analyses and variable study quality.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022353340.

Loving-kindness and compassion meditations in the workplace: A meta-analysis and future prospects

Loving-kindness and compassion meditation (LKCM) have been well applied among employees to improve their health and well-being. Existing studies on LKCM have also provided supportive evidence of its benefits and effectiveness under organizational contexts. The current meta-analytical study aimed to systematically summarise the effects of LKCM in the workplace and to outline directions for future research and practice. Among 327 empirical studies on LKCM published until March 2022, 21 trials focussed on employees and provided sufficient information, which were included in the following meta-analysis. The results showed that LKCM benefited eight categories of workplace outcomes. Specifically, LKCM effectively decreased employees' burnout (g = 0.395, k = 10) and stress (g = 0.544, k = 10) and facilitated their mindfulness (g = 0.558, k = 14), self-compassion (g = 0.646, k = 12), personal mental health (g = 0.308, k = 13), job attitudes (g = 0.283, k = 4), interpersonal relationships (g = 0.381, k = 12), and psychological resources (g = 0.406, k = 6). The results of moderation analyses further indicated that the participants' job type, gender, and the focus of LKCM might differentially fluctuate the magnitude of LKCM effects. To advance research and best practice, we finally pointed out several issues that deserve attention, such as long-term effects, underlying mechanisms, potential moderators, and outcomes or influential factors at the organizational level.

The chain mediating effect of empathy and communication ability on emotional intelligence and caring ability of nursing students

Background

The implementation of humanistic care is conducive to providing high quality nursing, improving patient satisfaction and establishing harmonious nursery-patient relationship. Current researchs show that humanistic caring ability is affected by emotional intelligence, empathy, interpersonal communication. But the exact relationship and internal mechanism of such factors have not been fully understood.

Objective

To explore the multiple mediating effect of empathy and communication ability on nursing students' emotional intelligence and caring ability.

Methods

A case study was conducted by examining a sample of 1,165 nursing students from a junior college in Anhui, China. The multidimensional scales, and a self-designed demographic characteristics questionnaire were utilized. Path relationships and mutual effects were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Results

Emotional intelligence, empathy, and communication ability were found to positively affect nursing students' caring ability, as well as positive interrelationships with one another (standardized estimate = 0.312-0.584, p < 0.001). Communication ability and empathy play an important role in mediating the association between emotional intelligence and caring ability, and the effect sizes are 0.169 and 0.121, respectively, while the effect value of empathy and communication ability in emotional intelligence and caring ability was 0.034, which showed partial mediation of the association. The indirect effect of the structural equation was 77.14%.

Conclusion

The chain mediating role of empathy and communication ability in emotional intelligence and caring ability is explored, which not only enrichis previous studies, but also reveals the mechanism of emotional intelligence's influence on caring ability. It is essential to continuously improve nursing students' caring ability. From the perspective of nursing educators, they need to develop targeted approaches to help the nursing student improve their emotional intelligence, empathy, and communication skills, further enhancing their caring ability.

How flow and mindfulness interact with each other in mindfulness-based augmented reality mandala coloring activities

Introduction

This study explores the effects of different types of augmented reality (AR) mandala coloring activities on mindfulness and flow in college students.

Methods

A total of 76 college students participated in the study and were divided into two groups based on their drawing skills: the high-skilled group (n = 38) and the low-skilled group (n = 38). With the help of AR technology, two groups of subjects carried out three mandala coloring experiments with structured mandala, free mandala and cooperative mandala in order. The measurement evaluation in the experimental program included a pre-test before all the experiments (Time 0) and each post-test after three mandala coloring activities (Time 1, Time 2 and Time 3). The balance dimensions of flow and challenge skills of the two groups were measured.

Results

ANOVA results showed that a single 30-min short-term datura coloring activity did not significantly improve mindfulness (f = 2.339, p = 0.074, η2 = 0.031), but did significantly improve flow (f = 11.918, p = < 0.001, η2 = 0.139). Linear regression results found positive correlations between mindfulness and certain dimensions of flow (e.g., focus on a task, unambiguous feedback, sense of control, challenge -- skill balance, and automatic experience). Mindfulness was also found to be negatively correlated with the loss of the self-conscious component of flow. We also found that the free mandala was quite challenging for subjects in the low-skill group, while the teamwork in the cooperative mandala helped them overcome difficulties and cope with challenges.

Discussion

Flow can be quickly and effectively improved through short AR mandala coloring exercises. The contribution of this study is to provide inspiration and reference for further exploring how AR mandola coloring can improve subjects' mental state and promote the perfection and development of positive psychological mechanism.

Twelve tips for creating a multicultural mindfulness-based intervention in diverse healthcare settings

High levels of stress and burnout, low help-seeking behaviour and unhealthy coping in healthcare professionals (HCPs), are a critical concern globally. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) reduce stress, are a healthy coping mechanism and have become increasingly popular among HCPs, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, HCPs' busy schedules require the intervention to be accessible, pragmatic, and context specific. Key to this goal is approaching mindfulness from a multicultural perspective, especially in diverse settings such as Africa. This paper aims to provide practical tips to ensure that the MBI offered is effective with multicultural HCPs during intense stress. Four tips each discuss the curriculum, implementation, and sustainability, respectively. The tips are elucidated by practical examples of regulating stress in healthcare settings and to offer a guideline to help structure future MBIs to be culturally and context appropriate.

The mediating effect of personality on mental workload and perceived professional benefits of nurses in East China

BACKGROUND

Nursing work is a work with high-stress load, and nurses with different personality may have different subjective feelings about their workload. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to comprehend the perceived professional benefits of nurses engaged in nursing work under high-pressure background, especially during the epidemic period. This study explored the relationship between mental workload, personality, and perceived professional benefits of nurses, and offer advices for the intervention of nurses with different personality to improve their perceived professional benefits.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this study, we used a cross-sectional study with a convenient sampling. 473 in-service nurses in Class A tertiary hospitals of Zhejiang Province were recruited by using the NASA Mission Load Index scale of nurses, the brief version of China's Big Five Personality Questionnaire, and the Nurses' perceived professional benefits questionnaire from July 2020 to March 2021. Sample size is 54.91%, and the response rate is 100%. Cronbach's alpha method was used to evaluate the reliability of the instruments. Descriptive statistical analysis was used to describe the socio-demographic data of the subject, and scores for research variables. The Mann-Whitney U-test, and Kruskal-Wallis H rank-sum test were used to compare the scores of perceived professional benefits with different demographic characteristics. Correlation analysis results were presented as the Spearman correlation coefficient. The plug-in v2.16.3 provided by SPSS software was used for linear regression analysis, and the deviation-corrected percentile Bootstrap method was used to examine the mediating role of personality (neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness and extroversion).

RESULTS

Age, length of service in nursing, and record of formal schooling can affect nurses' perceived professional benefits. Mental workload, and perceived professional benefits were all above the median value. The mental workload was negatively correlated with perceived professional benefits (r= -0.129, P < 0.01), positively correlated with neuroticism (r = 0.242, P < 0.01), negatively correlated with agreeableness, openness, extroversion (r=-0.229~-0.221, P < 0.01), and negatively correlated with conscientiousness, but the differences were not significant. Nurses' perceived professional benefits were negatively correlated neuroticism (r=-0.109, P < 0.05), but positively associated with conscientiousness, agreeableness, openness, and extroversion (r = 0.098 ~ 0.326, P < 0.05). The mental workload can directly affect the perceived professional benefits in the direct effects, and can also affect the it through the mediating effect of agreeableness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness.

CONCLUSIONS

Age, length of service in nursing, and record of formal schooling could affect nurses' perceived professional benefits, and personality played a partial mediating role in the influence of mental workload on the perceived professional benefits. The results of this study can provide strategies for nurses' human resource management. According to different demographic factors, and personality, various measures should be taken to guide nurses to evaluate the mental workload correctly, reduce their emotional pressure, increase job resources, and improve their perceived professional benefits.

The effects of short video app-guided loving-kindness meditation on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation

OBJECTIVE

The study investigated the effects of a short video app guided loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on college students' mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation. The purpose of the study is to investigate the intervention effect of LKM training on suicidal ideation among college students with the help of the short video application and to provide an empirical basis for the exploration of early suicide intervention strategies for college students.

METHODS

We recruited 80 college students from a university in China. The final 74 eligible participants were divided into two groups: app use group (n = 37) and the control group (n = 37). The app group accepted an 8-week app use interference, while the control group underwent no interference. We measured four major variable factors (mindfulness, self-compassion, positive psychological capital, and suicide ideation) before and after the app use intervention.

RESULTS

In the app group, self-compassion and positive psychological capital were significantly higher, and suicide ideation was significantly lower than the control group. In the control group, there were no noticeable differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings demonstrate that the short video app guided LKM may help to improve self-compassion, and positive psychological capital, and reduce suicide ideation. The finding of the short video app-guided LKM's effect extends our understanding of the integrative effects of positive psychology and digital media on the reduction of suicide ideation.

Knowledge with kindness is power! Knowledge about autism and kindness relate to better attitude towards persons with autism spectrum disorder

Prior studies have shown inconclusive evidence on how knowledge predicts attitude towards individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in diverse cultural contexts. There is also dearth of research on psychological resources that facilitate inclusive attitude towards students with ASD. This study examines the links of kindness and knowledge about autism to attitude towards ASD among Filipino high school students. An online survey with items measuring kindness and knowledge about autism as well as a vignette-based measure of attitude towards ASD was administered to participants. Results showed that knowledge about autism and kindness positively predicted attitude towards ASD when controlling for age, gender, and previous contact with students with ASD. This research suggests that integrating ASD awareness with kindness education can bolster positive attitude towards persons with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Designing mindfulness information for interaction in social media: The role of information framing, health risk perception and lay theories of health

In the post-pandemic era, our health is facing unprecedented challenges, and people are more willing to obtain health-related information or interact with each other than ever before. In this context, people’s interest in mindfulness information is also growing. However, not enough attention has been paid to the relationship between mindfulness information design and information interaction. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of information design based on the gain and loss framework on people’s willingness to interact with mindfulness information, and to identify the framework for achieving better results. Through two experimental studies, we find that information design based on the framework of gains and losses can produce different effects. Specifically, the findings of the first experiment (N = 282) shows the individuals are more willing to interact mindfulness information when they are exposed to gain-framed information rather than loss-framed. In the second experiment (N = 308), we find that loss framing, compared with gain framing, led to greater health risk perception, which in turn make participants more likely to interact with mindfulness information with others. Additionally, our results show that the lay theories of health plays a moderating role in the direct effect of information framework on willingness to interact with mindfulness information in social media. When individuals hold incremental lay theories, they are more willing to interact with mindfulness information under the gain-framed information condition compared with the loss-framed information condition. However, when individuals are in entity condition, there is no significant difference in the willingness to interact with mindfulness information between the gain-framed and loss-framed information. Our studies of integrating information framework into designing mindfulness information suggest a promising strategy of health information interaction in social media.

A study of the factors influencing HIV-preventive intentions among "hookup" application users

"Hooking up" refers to the act of experiencing sexual intimacy with strangers without committing to a romantic relationship. Social media provide more convenient conditions for hooking up; however, it also poses a greater risk for HIV infection. Therefore, it is necessary to study the factors influencing the HIV-preventive intentions of those who engage in online dating to devise effective strategies for preventing the spread of HIV. This study consisted of a questionnaire that was distributed to 520 users of the Hello Group application. The survey results revealed that structural equation modeling is a useful framework for understanding the risk of HIV transmission in casual hookup encounters. In addition, combining the health belief model with the theory of planned behavior can provide recommendations for enhancing HIV-preventive intentions among users of dating applications. The results showed that mindfulness, the Chinese cultural context, perceived benefits, and self-efficacy were the main predictors of users' HIV-preventive intentions when using online dating applications. Among the perceived HIV risks, only perceived barriers had a negative effect on users' HIV-preventive intentions. In addition, attitude, subjective norms, and behavior control served as mediating variables between independent variables and HIV-preventive intentions; however, the mediating effect of attitude on perceived benefits and intentions was not significant. According to our study, some users misunderstand the risks and make incorrect assessments of the cultural risks of hooking up. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the research on the psychological tendencies of users and risk intervention when studying the concept of hooking up.

Designing mindfulness information for interaction in social media: The role of information framing, health risk perception and lay theories of health

In the post-pandemic era, our health is facing unprecedented challenges, and people are more willing to obtain health-related information or interact with each other than ever before. In this context, people's interest in mindfulness information is also growing. However, not enough attention has been paid to the relationship between mindfulness information design and information interaction. The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of information design based on the gain and loss framework on people's willingness to interact with mindfulness information, and to identify the framework for achieving better results. Through two experimental studies, we find that information design based on the framework of gains and losses can produce different effects. Specifically, the findings of the first experiment (N = 282) shows the individuals are more willing to interact mindfulness information when they are exposed to gain-framed information rather than loss-framed. In the second experiment (N = 308), we find that loss framing, compared with gain framing, led to greater health risk perception, which in turn make participants more likely to interact with mindfulness information with others. Additionally, our results show that the lay theories of health plays a moderating role in the direct effect of information framework on willingness to interact with mindfulness information in social media. When individuals hold incremental lay theories, they are more willing to interact with mindfulness information under the gain-framed information condition compared with the loss-framed information condition. However, when individuals are in entity condition, there is no significant difference in the willingness to interact with mindfulness information between the gain-framed and loss-framed information. Our studies of integrating information framework into designing mindfulness information suggest a promising strategy of health information interaction in social media.

Journey Mapping Healthcare Worker Experience With Heart Rhythm Meditation

BACKGROUND

Levels of stress and burnout continue to rise amongst healthcare workers. In addition to systemic and institution-level changes to healthcare practice environments, well-being interventions, resources, and support to assist healthcare providers are necessary. Meditation practices like Heart Rhythm Meditation (HRM) may provide benefits to healthcare workers, but healthcare worker experiences with HRM are not well understood.

OBJECTIVE

To explore healthcare worker experiences with HRM using a journey mapping approach.

METHODS

An exploratory cross-sectional online survey was administered between May and July of 2020 to a purposeful sample of 25 healthcare workers currently practicing HRM. Surveys consisted of 5 open-ended and 36 multiple-choice items mapped to five journey mapping domains: Discover, Search, Assess, Decide, Assist. Descriptive statistics for survey items were generated in addition to a visual representation of a Persona and associated journey map for HRM. Content analysis was performed on open-ended responses using a general inductive approach to code responses and identify representative quotes.

RESULTS

Twenty surveys were completed for a response rate of 80%. The majority of respondents identified as women (n = 14). From the journey mapping output, the overall emotional experience score was an 8.2/10, suggesting respondents had positive experiences with HRM. Open-ended comments suggest that HRM provides important benefits to the personal and professional lives of healthcare workers. A small number of participants reported challenges like feeling difficult emotions during HRM practice.

CONCLUSION

Mapping the healthcare worker journey with HRM identified generally positive experiences with personal and professional benefits. While experiences were largely positive, HRM elicited difficult emotions from some individuals, suggesting that appropriate resources and support are required when considering HRM and other meditation forms.

The effect of mindfulness on online self-presentation, pressure, and addiction on social media

As social media has become more imperative in daily life, people pay more attention to self-presentation and impression management on social media, and some have even become psychologically dependent. There is a large group of socially addicted users who continuously strive to improve their online self-presentation. Due to stress and burnout arising from social media addiction, people change their social media behavior. The influence of mindfulness on social behavior cannot be ignored. This study aims to explore coping behaviors and the role of mindfulness for people under social media pressure and social media addiction in China's special political environment. We found significant differences in self-presentation, social media pressure, and social media addiction among different circles in the Chinese context. Experiments have shown that people's socially addictive behaviors and abilities to withstand social media pressure are affected by their mindfulness. In addition, the more social media pressure people perceive on social media, the more likely they are to stop using social media and shift to offline interpersonal interactions. However, when there are more offline interpersonal interactions, people's willingness to return to social media platforms increases.

Parental intervention strategies and operating mechanism on adolescent social media use—The concept of literacy improvement based on interaction

This study focuses on a realistic picture of parental intervention in the use of social media among teenagers in the post-pandemic era. First, based on a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews, and under the guidance of the concept of interactive literacy improvement, we propose a conceptual model and a verifiable measurement dimension of parental-mediated intervention. Second, based on the comparison of parent–child samples, it was found that parental-mediated intervention strategies are often used in families, and parents and children have roughly the same cognition and preference for the four intervention strategies. However, parents reported that they use intervention strategies much more frequently than perceived by their children. Third, we constructed and verified the prediction model of “individual technical characteristics-online family environment-parental-mediated intervention,” namely, the hierarchical progressive logic of parental-mediated intervention, and realized the systematization of influencing factors. The study confirmed that the effectiveness of parental-mediated intervention is improved by parent–children “cohesion.” In the follow-up, we will focus on the new perspective of theoretical research on parental intervention and intra-generational digital inequality among adolescents.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on empathy: A meta-analysis

Empathy is essential for human survival and social interaction. Although mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been used to improve empathy in healthy populations, its therapeutic efficacy remains unknown. This study aims to investigate the therapeutic effects of MBIs on empathy in a healthy population and the potential factors affecting the efficacy of MBIs. The literature search focused on PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CNKI from inception to September 2022. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies reporting the effects of using MBIs on empathy in healthy populations were included. A total of 13 studies were included in this review. Results of the meta-analysis showed that MBIs improved empathy (SMD, 0.372, 95% CI, 0.164-0.579, p = 0.001) in the healthy population compared with that in the control group. Moreover, results of the subgroup analysis showed that intervention dose (over 24 h vs. under 24 h), format (online vs. offline), and types (different types) were important factors affecting treatment outcomes. This comprehensive review suggests that MBIs are effective treatment for empathy in healthy population. Future research should markedly focus on large-sample, rigorously designed experiments to explore the long-term effects of MBIs on empathy and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of MBIs. This study provides a reference for the daily application of MBIs.

Positive intervention effect of mobile health application based on mindfulness and social support theory on postpartum depression symptoms of puerperae

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effects of mobile health application designed based on mindfulness and social support theory on parenting self-efficacy and postpartum depression symptoms of puerperae.

METHODS

We recruited 130 puerperae from a hospital in China and randomized them to an App use group (n = 65) and a waiting control group (n = 65). The App group underwent an 8-week app use intervention while the control group underwent no intervention. We measured four main variables (mindfulness, perceived social support, maternal parental self-efficacy and postpartum depressive symptoms) before and after the App use intervention.

RESULTS

In the App group, perceived social support, maternal parental self-efficacy were significantly higher and postpartum depressive symptoms was significantly lower. In the control group, there were no significant differences in any of the four variables between the pre-test and post-test.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicated that the mobile health application may help to improve perceived social support, maternal self-efficacy and reduce postpartum depressive symptoms. The finding of the mobile health application's effect extends our understanding of integrative effects of mindfulness and perceived social support on reduction of postpartum depressive symptoms and suggests clinical potentials in the treatment of postpartum depressive symptoms.

Consistency Analysis in Medical Empathy Intervention Research

Various studies have examined the effectiveness of interventions to increase empathy in medical professionals. However, inconsistencies may exist in the definitions, interventions, and assessments of empathy. Inconsistencies jeopardize the internal validity and generalization of the research findings. The main purpose of this study was to examine the internal consistency among the definitions, interventions, and assessments of empathy in medical empathy intervention studies. We also examined the interventions and assessments in terms of the knowledge-attitude-behavior aspects. We conducted a literature search for medical empathy intervention studies with a design of randomized controlled trials and categorized each study according to the dimensions of empathy and knowledge-attitude-behavior aspects. The consistencies among the definitions, interventions, and assessments were calculated. A total of 13 studies were included in this study. No studies were fully consistent in their definitions, interventions, and assessments of empathy. Only four studies were partially consistent. In terms of knowledge-attitude-behavior aspects, four studies were fully consistent, two studies were partially consistent, and seven studies were inconsistent. Most medical empathy intervention studies are inconsistent in their definitions, interventions, and assessments of empathy, as well as the knowledge-attitude-behavior aspects between interventions and assessments. These inconsistencies may have affected the internal validity and generalization of the research results.

Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) modulates brain-heart connection: An EEG case study

Loving-Kindness Meditation (LKM) is an efficient mental practice with a long history that has recently attracted interest in the fields of neuroscience, medicine and education. However, the neural characters and underlying mechanisms have not yet been fully illustrated, which has hindered its practical usefulness. This study aimed to investigate LKM from varied aspects and interactions between the brain, the heart, and psychological measurements. A Buddhist monk practitioner was recruited to complete one 10-min LKM practice, in between two 10-min resting tasks (pre- and post-resting) per experimental run. Two sets of single-channel wearable EEG devices were used to collect EEG data (placed at Fz and Pz) and heart rate simultaneously. A self-report evaluation was conducted to repeatedly record the comprehensive performance of mind and body in each session. EEG data were preprossessed and analyzed by EEGlab. Further statistics were made by SPSS. Spectrum analysis showed a significant increase of theta power (Fz: t = −3.356; p = 0.002; Pz: t = −5.199; p < 0.001) and decrease of heart rate between pre- and post-resting tasks (t = 4.092, p < 0.001). The analysis showed a negative correlation between theta power and heart rate (Fz: r = −0.681, p < 0.001; Pz: r = −0.384, p = 0.008), and a positive correlation between theta power and the self-designed report score (Fz: r = 0.601, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that LKM is accompanied by significant neurophysiological changes, mainly an increase in slower frequencies, such as theta, and a decrease in heart rate. More importantly, subjective psychological assessments were also correlated with objective neurophysiological measurements in a long-term meditator participant. During LKM meditation, this connection was stronger. The results of this case report have promising implications for LKM practice in daily life.

Communication skills in psychiatry for undergraduate students: A scoping review

Communication skills are paramount in all areas of medicine but particularly in psychiatry due to the challenges posed by mental health patients and the essential role of communication from diagnosis to treatment. Despite the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in different medical specialties, particularly in primary care settings, communication skills in psychiatry and their training are not well studied and are often not included in the undergraduate medical curriculum. Our paper explores the relevance of teaching communication competencies in psychiatry for undergraduate medical students. Our work focused on reviewing the methods for teaching communication skills to undergraduate students in Psychiatry. Eleven studies were selected to be included in this review. We found considerable heterogeneity among methods for teaching communication skills but also some common elements such as the use of simulated patients and providing feedback. This review has identified two models: the Calgary-Cambridge interview model and the Kolb cycle-based model. However, most studies still lack a theoretical background model. We believe that the inclusion of communication skills training in medical curricula is fundamental to teaching medical students general communication skills but also specific training on establishing adequate communication with psychiatric patients. However, more research is needed to determine the best method for training but also regarding its translation to patient care and cost-effectiveness.

Effects of animated pedagogical agent-guided loving-kindness meditation on flight attendants’ spirituality, mindfulness, subjective wellbeing, and social presence

Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) was first practiced by Buddhists and then developed by clinical psychologist. Previous studies on LKM have mainly focused on the impact of real person-guided meditation on depression, anxiety, and other negative psychology. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this study explored the effect and mechanism of media-guided LKM on the improvement of social presence, mindfulness, spirituality, and subjective wellbeing (SWB). From the viewpoint of positive psychology, this study compared the different media effects of animated pedagogical agent (APA)-guided LKM and audio-guided LKM. A total of 82 flight attendants were recruited from airlines; then, they were randomly assigned to two groups: APA group (41 participants) and audio group (41 participants), which both underwent an 8-week LKM training intervention. The aforementioned four main variables were measured pre and post the meditation experiment. The results indicated that both APA-guided meditation and audio-guided meditation significantly improved subjects’ spirituality and SWB. Compared with audio-guided meditation, APA-guided meditation significantly improved the subjects’ spirituality, SWB, and social presence. Audio-guided meditation has no significant effect on social presence. This study highlights APA-guided meditation has a positive effect on spirituality, SWB, and social presence, which may provide individuals with a simple and easy method to improve their mental health.

Classification of Mindfulness Meditation and Its Impact on Neural Measures in the Clinical Population

Different forms of mindfulness meditation are increasingly integrated in the clinical practice in the last three decades. Previous studies have identified changes in the neurophysiology and neurochemistry of the brain resulting from different mindfulness meditation practices in the general population. However, research on neural correlates of different types of meditation, particularly on the clinical outcomes, is still very sparse. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the neural impact of mindfulness meditation interventions on different mental disorders via the classification of main components of mindfulness meditation. The clearer classification of mindfulness meditation may inform future clinical practice and research directions.

The effect of loving-kindness meditation on employees’ mindfulness, affect, altruism and knowledge hiding

Background

This study investigated the effects of the loving-kindness meditation (LKM) on employees’ mindfulness, affect, altruism and knowledge hiding.

Methods

In total, 100 employees were recruited from a knowledge-based enterprise in China and randomly divided into the LKM training group (n = 50) and the control group (n = 50). The LKM training group underwent LKM training for 8 weeks, while the control group did not. Seven main variables (mindfulness, altruism positive affect, negative affect, playing dumb, rationalized hiding, and evasive hiding) were measured both before (pre-test) and after (post-test) the LKM training intervention.

Results

The LKM intervention significantly increased participants’ altruism, and significantly reduced negative affect, playing dumb and evasive hiding, but did not significantly improve mindfulness, positive affect, and rationalized hiding.

Conclusions

LKM significantly improved employees’ altruism, and significantly reduce their negative affect, but did not significantly improve their mindfulness and positive affect. For knowledge hiding, LKM significantly reduced playing dumb and evasive hiding, but had no significant effect on rationalized hiding. These results further elucidate the psychological effects of LKM and suggest the possibility of reducing knowledge hiding in the workplace.

Trial registration

ChiCTR2200057460. Registered in Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR), 13 March 2022—Retrospectively registered.

Focused-Attention Meditation Improves Flow, Communication Skills, and Safety Attitudes of Surgeons

OBJECTIVE

Patient safety is a worldwide problem and a focus of academic research. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) is an approach to improving healthcare work systems and processes. From the perspective of the cognitive ergonomics of HFE, the aim of this study is to improve the flow level, communication skills, and safety attitudes of surgeons through focused-attention meditation (FAM) training, thus helping to reduce adverse clinical events.

METHODS

In total, 140 surgeons were recruited from three hospitals in China and randomly divided into two groups (FAM group and control group). The FAM group received 8 weeks of FAM training, while the control group was on the waiting list and did not receive any interventions. Three scales (WOLF, LCSAS, and SAQ-C) were used to measure the data of three variables (flow, communication skills, and safety attitude), respectively, at two times, before and after the intervention (pre-test and post-test). The incidence of adverse events during the intervention was also collected for both groups.

RESULTS

The ANOVA results showed that all three variables had a significant main effect of time and significant interactions between time and group. The independent-sample T-test results showed that the incidence of adverse events during the intervention was significantly lower in the FAM group than in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The intervention of FAM could significantly improve surgeons' flow levels, communication skills, and safety attitudes, potentially helping to reduce adverse clinical events.

Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Doctors' Mindfulness, Patient Safety Culture, Patient Safety Competency and Adverse Event

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effects of mindfulness meditation on doctors' mindfulness, patient safety culture, patient safety competency, and adverse events.

METHODS

We recruited 91 doctors from a hospital in China and randomized them to mindfulness meditation group (n = 46) and a waiting control group (n = 45). The mindfulness meditation group underwent an 8-week mindfulness meditation intervention, while the control group underwent no intervention. We measured four main variables (mindfulness, patient safety culture, patient safety competency, and adverse event) before and after the mindfulness meditation intervention.

RESULTS

In the experimental group, mindfulness, patient safety culture and patient safety competency were significantly higher compared with those of the control group. In the control group, there were no significant differences in any of the three variables between the pre-test and post-test. Adverse events in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The intervention of mindfulness meditation significantly improved the level of mindfulness, patient safety culture and patient safety competency. During the mindfulness meditation intervention, the rate of adverse events in the meditation group was also significantly lower than in the control group. As a simple and effective intervention, mindfulness meditation plays a positive role in improving patient safety and has certain promotional value.