Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Abstract Objective Emergency clinicians face elevated rates of burnout that result in poor outcomes for clinicians, patients, and health systems. The objective of this single‐arm pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of a Transcendental Meditation (TM) intervention for emergency clinicians dur...

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Main Authors: Desiree R. Azizoddin, Noelia Kvaternik, Meghan Beck, Guohai Zhou, Mohammad Adrian Hasdianda, Natasha Jones, Lily Johnsky, Dana Im, Peter R. Chai, Edward W. Boyer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-12-01
Series:Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12619
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author Desiree R. Azizoddin
Noelia Kvaternik
Meghan Beck
Guohai Zhou
Mohammad Adrian Hasdianda
Natasha Jones
Lily Johnsky
Dana Im
Peter R. Chai
Edward W. Boyer
author_facet Desiree R. Azizoddin
Noelia Kvaternik
Meghan Beck
Guohai Zhou
Mohammad Adrian Hasdianda
Natasha Jones
Lily Johnsky
Dana Im
Peter R. Chai
Edward W. Boyer
author_sort Desiree R. Azizoddin
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective Emergency clinicians face elevated rates of burnout that result in poor outcomes for clinicians, patients, and health systems. The objective of this single‐arm pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of a Transcendental Meditation (TM) intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and to explore the potential effectiveness in improving burnout, sleep, and psychological health. Methods Emergency clinicians (physicians, nurses, and physician‐assistants) from 2 urban hospitals were recruited to participate in TM instruction (8 individual or group in‐person and remote sessions) for 3 months. Session attendance was the primary feasibility outcome (prespecified as attending 6/8 sessions), and burnout was the primary clinical outcome. Participant‐reported measures of feasibility and validated measures of burnout, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and stress were collected at baseline and the 1‐month and 3‐month follow‐ups. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed‐effects models were used. Results Of the 14 physicians (46%), 7 nurses (22%), and 10 physician‐assistants (32%) who participated, 61% were female (n = 19/32). TM training and at‐home meditation practice was feasible for clinicians as 90.6% (n = 29/32) attended 6/8 training sessions and 80.6% self‐reported meditating at least once a day on average. Participants demonstrated significant reductions in burnout (P < .05; effect sizes, Cohen's d = 0.43–0.45) and in symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbance (P values < .001; Cohen's d = 0.70–0.87). Conclusion TM training was feasible for emergency clinicians during the COVID‐19 pandemic and led to significant reductions in burnout and psychological symptoms. TM is a safe and effective meditation tool to improve clinicians’ well‐being.
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spelling doaj-art-d0e6d050f1724ab1aa3a8dbb1cadc58c2025-08-20T03:04:07ZengElsevierJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open2688-11522021-12-0126n/an/a10.1002/emp2.12619Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemicDesiree R. Azizoddin0Noelia Kvaternik1Meghan Beck2Guohai Zhou3Mohammad Adrian Hasdianda4Natasha Jones5Lily Johnsky6Dana Im7Peter R. Chai8Edward W. Boyer9Department of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USACenter for Clinical Investigation Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USAHarvard Graduate School of Education Harvard University Cambridge USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital Boston Massachusetts USAAbstract Objective Emergency clinicians face elevated rates of burnout that result in poor outcomes for clinicians, patients, and health systems. The objective of this single‐arm pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility of a Transcendental Meditation (TM) intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic and to explore the potential effectiveness in improving burnout, sleep, and psychological health. Methods Emergency clinicians (physicians, nurses, and physician‐assistants) from 2 urban hospitals were recruited to participate in TM instruction (8 individual or group in‐person and remote sessions) for 3 months. Session attendance was the primary feasibility outcome (prespecified as attending 6/8 sessions), and burnout was the primary clinical outcome. Participant‐reported measures of feasibility and validated measures of burnout, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and stress were collected at baseline and the 1‐month and 3‐month follow‐ups. Descriptive statistics and linear mixed‐effects models were used. Results Of the 14 physicians (46%), 7 nurses (22%), and 10 physician‐assistants (32%) who participated, 61% were female (n = 19/32). TM training and at‐home meditation practice was feasible for clinicians as 90.6% (n = 29/32) attended 6/8 training sessions and 80.6% self‐reported meditating at least once a day on average. Participants demonstrated significant reductions in burnout (P < .05; effect sizes, Cohen's d = 0.43–0.45) and in symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep disturbance (P values < .001; Cohen's d = 0.70–0.87). Conclusion TM training was feasible for emergency clinicians during the COVID‐19 pandemic and led to significant reductions in burnout and psychological symptoms. TM is a safe and effective meditation tool to improve clinicians’ well‐being.https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12619burnoutclinician interventioncovid‐19meditationnurse burnoutPA burnout
spellingShingle Desiree R. Azizoddin
Noelia Kvaternik
Meghan Beck
Guohai Zhou
Mohammad Adrian Hasdianda
Natasha Jones
Lily Johnsky
Dana Im
Peter R. Chai
Edward W. Boyer
Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open
burnout
clinician intervention
covid‐19
meditation
nurse burnout
PA burnout
title Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
title_full Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
title_fullStr Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
title_short Heal the Healers: A pilot study evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a Transcendental Meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
title_sort heal the healers a pilot study evaluating the feasibility acceptability and exploratory efficacy of a transcendental meditation intervention for emergency clinicians during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic
topic burnout
clinician intervention
covid‐19
meditation
nurse burnout
PA burnout
url https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12619
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