Health care professionals are at higher risk for work-related stress, burnout and compassion fatigue than other professionals. One coping strategy that has attracted considerable attention is the practice of self-compassion. Self-compassion training is associated with psychological benefits such as decreased self-criticism and rumination and increased connectedness, mindfulness, and life satisfaction. (Smeets et al., 2014). While there is preliminary evidence that online self-compassion training is as effective as in-person training (Finlay-Jones et al., 2016), length and duration of online programs may affect adherence. Accordingly, this study assessed the feasibility of a short, 4-week online self-compassion program tailored for students in health care professions. Since this was an exploratory study, there was no control group. A convenience sample of 31 students who were registered in health care profession programs at the University of Ottawa and other Canadian universities were recruited. Key feasibility indicators included ease of recruitment, retention, completion of outcome measures, and acceptability of the program (adherence, satisfaction, ease of use). The study also obtained preliminary data on the effects of the intervention on levels of self-compassion, mindfulness, depression, anxiety and stress. Recruitment was easier than expected, with 31 participants enrolled in the study within a 2-month period. Of these, 21 started the self-compassion training. Adherence to the daily self-compassion meditations was poor, with only four participants meditating at least 50% of the expected number of days. Participants rated the self-compassion meditations as easy to follow and satisfaction ratings were acceptable for three of the four meditations. However, only two of the meditations were perceived to be relevant to healthcare professions. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed that the mindfulness facet Nonjudge and levels of stress improved from pre-to- post study. Separate analyses on program starters revealed that the mindfulness facets Describe, Nonjudge, and Act with Awareness, and levels of stress and anxiety improved. However, it is unlikely that these changes were attributed to the meditation practice given the poor rate of adherence. Overall, results suggest that this brief online self-compassion meditation training may not be feasible for healthcare trainees at this time without certain modifications to the program.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/43001 |
| Date | 08 December 2021 |
| Creators | Madhu Kalpak, Midhula |
| Contributors | Koszycki, Diana |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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