Effect of an 8-week Heartfulness Meditation Program on Burnout and Stress at Veterinary Specialty Hospital

Stress Clinical Trial

Official title:

Investigating the Effect of an 8-week Heartfulness Meditation Program on Employee Burnout and Stress at Veterinary Specialty Hospital

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06338098
• Other study ID #: HFNVSH.001
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: February 28, 2023
• Est. completion date: October 2, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: April 2024
• Source: Heartfulness Institute
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

This quantitative study assesses the effects of meditation and relaxation practices on the reduction of burnout and stress in veterinary care workers. Assessments at baseline will include the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Maslach Burnout Toolkit, and the same questionnaires were collected in Week 8 and Week 16. The Google form questionnaire will ask the participant for their email address. The form will also include a question eliciting interest in participation in the 8-weeks Heartfulness Meditation program. The program will include tools that promote a heart-based nurturing environment focusing on relaxation, and tools to cope with burnout.

Description:

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of meditation and relaxation practices on the reduction of burnout and stress in veterinary care workers.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 74
• Est. completion date: October 2, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: October 2, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Above the age of 18 years

• An employee of MSPCA-Angell Hospital

Exclusion Criteria:

• Experience suicidal ideation

• Diagnosed with manic-depressive disorders

• Diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Diagnosed with psychotic disorders, or any other psychiatric conditions requiring treatment

All eligible members are encouraged to check with their healthcare provider before participation.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Burnout, Professional
• Burnout, Psychological
• Stress

Intervention

Behavioral:
• 8-week wellness and relaxation meditation program
Heartfulness Meditation program will be provided with guided meditation and relaxation audio clips to spend approximately 20 minutes per day on the meditation and relaxation activities and participate each week in a 20-30 minutes online meditation webinar with a certified meditation trainer. All meditation and relaxation exercises can be performed in the comfort of your own home or other place of your choosing. The intervention will be entirely online.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Angell Animal Medical Center,	Boston	Massachusetts

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Heartfulness Institute	Angell Animal Medical Center

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Assess the current level of Anxiety	To assess the current level of stress levels through Perceived Stress Scale. Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.	Week 0
Primary	Changes level of Stress	To assess the beneficial impact of Heartfulness program on lowering the Stress. Individual scores on the PSS can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.	Week 8 and Week 16
Primary	Assess the current level of Burnout	To assess the current level of burnout levels through Maslach Burnout Toolkit Scale which included Maslach Burnout Inventory for healthcare professionals (MBI-HSS) and Areas of Worklife (AWS). The MBI-HSS comprised 22 questions across 3 subscales; Emotional Exhaustion (EE)-9 questions, Depersonalization (DP)-5 questions, and self-perceived lack of Personal Accomplishment (PA)-8 questions. Responses were scored on a six-point Likert scale (ranging from 0 = never to 6 = everyday) for each subscale, and tabulated into three tiers (low, moderate or high) based on the reference ranges provided with the MBI-HSS. The higher the score the worse the burnout levels. The AWS is a 28 item questionnaire subdivided into six areas with a response scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Higher the score in a sub-area shows a better area in work life.	Week 0
Primary	Changes level of Burnout	To assess the beneficial impact of Heartfulness program on improving burnout levels through Maslach Burnout Toolkit Scale which included Maslach Burnout Inventory for healthcare professionals (MBI-HSS) and Areas of Worklife (AWS). The MBI-HSS comprised 22 questions across 3 subscales; Emotional Exhaustion (EE)-9 questions, Depersonalization (DP)-5 questions, and self-perceived lack of Personal Accomplishment (PA)-8 questions. Responses were scored on a six-point Likert scale (ranging from 0 = never to 6 = everyday) for each subscale, and tabulated into three tiers (low, moderate or high) based on the reference ranges provided with the MBI-HSS. The higher the score the worse the burnout levels. The AWS is a 28 item questionnaire subdivided into six areas with a response scale of 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree). Higher the score in a sub-area shows a better area in work life.	Week 8 and Week 16