Reducing Stress in Health Care Workers Using Mindfulness: A Systematic Review.

Abstract

Background: Evidence shows that health care workers (HCWs) experience high levels of stress, heightened in recent years by the pandemic. Finding ways to alleviate this stress has become an important objective for health care systems. Mindfulness has been shown to reduce stress levels in HCWs. Objective: This systematic review aims to review efficient and feasible ways to deliver mindfulness to HCWs to reduce stress. Methods: Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses method, the literature was searched using Google Scholar, CINAHL, and PubMed for relevant articles. Inclusion and exclusion criteria include the following: intervention was a mindfulness program, population must include nurses in subject pool, must have full text, no dissertations, newer than 2019, and in English language. The results were synthesized and presented by themes of how efficient and feasible mindfulness programs were created. Results: A total number of 25 studies were used in the review, with 1,099 participants in total. Identified themes related to program efficiency and feasibility included the types of mindfulness, feasibility, delivery methods, measurement of stress, and mindful awareness. Conclusions: A feasible program can be implemented for low to no cost using a mobile application device and daily consistent mindfulness. Implications for Nursing: Reducing stress in this fashion is both accessible for busy HCWs in their day-to-day work routine as well as a cost-efficient solution for health care systems.