Background: Burnout poses great challenge to the healthcare workers’ well-being and healthcare system’s quality and safety globally. A mindfulness-based intervention, Mindful Practice (MP), has been demonstrated to alleviate burnout of physicians in the United States and Spain.
Objectives: Since there was a lack of protocol-driven evidence-based program to address burnout of hospital staff in Hong Kong (HK), the aim of this study was to (1) examine the acceptability and feasibility of developing a localized MP intervention to alleviate staff's burnout and (2) examine the effectiveness of the localized MP using randomized controlled trial (RCT) to reduce staff’s burnout and perceived stress.
Method: Ten staff with previous mindfulness-based intervention experiences were invited to attend a 5-day MP workshop. They provided qualitative comments about the feasibility of the program. Their level of burnout, mood disturbance and mindfulness were measured at the pre-intervention, post-intervention and 9-month follow-up. In addition, 93 staff who reported having burnout or perceived stress were recruited in the RCT to evaluate the localized program’s effectiveness. Their burnout and perceived stress were collected at baseline, post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Program evaluation was also gathered.
Results: Findings of the feasibility study revealed that most participants agreed that MP was practical and acceptable for HK's hospital workforce. Participants also reported of having significant reduction in burnout after intervention and 9-month follow up. For the RCT study, participants of treatment group reported having statistically significant reduction in burnout (emotion exhaustion and depersonalization) and perceived stress after intervention and at 3-month follow up. Majority of the participants were satisfied with the program.
Conclusions: MP may be a promising option in reducing burnout of the healthcare workers in HK.
