Mindfulness interventions have improved the mental well-being of health professionals during the covid-19 pandemic

A review study participated by IDIAPJGol shows benefits of this technique to reduce stress levels, improve the ability to pay attention and increase general emotional well-being

Mindfulness session at CAP Onze de Setembre in Lleida

 

A systematic review in which the researcher of the Multidisciplinary Research Group in Health and Society (GREMSAS), of the North Metropolitan Research Support Unit of the IDIAPJGol and the ICS, Rosa García Sierra, has participated, has provided significant evidence on the benefits that mindfulness-based interventions have had for health professionals during the covid-19 pandemic. This study, published in the BMC journal Systematic Reviews, has examined the effectiveness of mindfulness techniques to improve various aspects of the mental health of these professionals.

Stressful situations

The covid-19 pandemic has been one of the greatest challenges for the global health system in recent decades. During this health crisis, nurses, doctors and other health professionals had to face very long hours and suffered very stressful situations. These circumstances negatively affected the mental health of professionals, so many health centres had to apply various solutions to improve the emotional health of their professionals. One of these formulas was mindfulness, a technique that promotes full attention and personal connection to improve emotional well-being.

The systematic review has included clinical trials addressing the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions in improving the mental health of health professionals during the pandemic.

Mindfulness and well-being in healthcare

In total, 28 studies have been included in this review. Their results have shown that mindfulness-based interventions have been effective in reducing stress levels, improving the capacity for full attention and increasing the emotional well-being of health professionals. However, the results have been inconclusive regarding its effectiveness in addressing anxiety, depression, exhaustion, sleep quality and resilience.

Rosa García-Sierra states that “the findings of this systematic review suggest that mindfulness interventions are a useful tool for health professionals who must face extreme crisis situations, such as the covid-19 pandemic.”

Although the studies reviewed show positive results in reducing stress and improving the emotional well-being of professionals during the pandemic, the researchers highlight the need to conduct more studies with a more robust methodology to confirm these conclusions and determine if the full Awareness is also effective in treating other emotional manifestations.

Study reference

Benavides-Gil G, Martínez-Zaragoza F, Fernández-Castro J, Sánchez-Pérez A, García-Sierra R. Mindfulness-based interventions for improving mental health of frontline healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review. Syst Rev. 2024 Jun 20;13(1):160. doi: 10.1186/s13643-024-02574-5. PMID: 38902795; PMCID: PMC11188518.