An online mindfulness- and compassion-based program may reduce symptoms of burnout in physicians for up to six months, a study in General Hospital Psychiatry has found.Francisco Villalon, M.D., M.B.A., of the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile, and colleagues analyzed data from 474 Chilean physicians who were assigned to an eight-week intervention known as intercuidado basado en atención plena (IBAP), or a waitlist control. All participants had burnout as measured via the Maslach Burnout Inventory–Human Services Survey. At baseline, post-intervention, and six-month follow-up, participants completed a survey that included questionnaires that measured burnout symptoms, mental health, mindfulness, and self-compassion.
The IBAP consisted of eight weekly two-hour online group sessions, along with home practice. Led by a physician who was also a certified mindfulness teacher, the sessions included:
- Mindfulness- and compassion-based exercises and meditations
- Concepts of compassionate communication
- An ethical perspective of care
- Exercises to help build habits
Participants in the IBAP group had significantly lower total burnout at eight weeks and follow-up compared with the waitlisted group. They also had improvements in emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, mindfulness, self-compassion, psychological well-being, and perceived medical errors. Mediation analysis revealed that mindfulness and self-compassion each accounted for about 30% of the reduction in burnout, which in turn mediated the decrease in perceived medical errors.
“By reducing burnout, this program may improve physician well-being and, indirectly, enhance quality of care and job satisfaction—key outcomes in overburdened healthcare systems,” Villalon and colleagues wrote.
For related information, see the Psychiatric News article “Systems-Level Changes Needed to Address Burnout, Experts Say” and “Protecting Ourselves Protects Patients.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStock/fizkes)
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