Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Medicine, Transgender Health Program, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences: Center for Addiction Research and Education, Outpatient Psychiatry, Contemplative Sciences Center, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
Explore (NY). 2020 Jan-Feb;16(1):61-68. doi: 10.1016/j.explore.2019.07.015. Epub 2019 Aug 6.
Emergency medical service (EMS) providers are systematically subjected to intense stimuli in their work that may result in distress and emotional suffering. While it is known that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) helps to foster well-being in healthcare workers, the effectiveness of MBSR among EMS providers is less understood. We explored the impact of a modified version of MBSR for healthcare workers called Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers (MHP) on reducing distress and promoting wellbeing in EMS providers.
A one-arm pilot study was conducted. We implemented eight two-and-a-half hour sessions of Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers with an additional day-long retreat at the end. Feasibility, perceived stress, professional quality of life, and trait mindfulness were assessed prior to and after the intervention. The professional quality of life scale includes measures of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary trauma.
Fifteen veteran EMS providers enrolled in the course; four participants dropped out. Prior to initiation of the study, no significant differences were revealed between those who did not participate (n = 48) and those who did (n = 11). After the intervention EMS providers endorsed statistically significant increases in compassion satisfaction, trait mindfulness, and decreases in burnout compared to the beginning of the program. These changes were sustained at six months post-completion. No significant changes over time were found for secondary trauma or perceived stress.
To our knowledge, this study is the first to employ Mindfulness for Healthcare Providers in an EMS population and to demonstrate a positive impact on self-reported compassion, trait mindfulness, and burnout in this population. Additional research regarding mindfulness training within EMS populations should be conducted to further understand the relationship between mindfulness and perceived stress over time.
急救医疗服务（EMS）人员在工作中会受到强烈刺激，这可能导致他们感到苦恼和情绪痛苦。虽然已经知道正念减压（MBSR）有助于培养医疗保健工作者的幸福感，但 MBSR 在 EMS 提供者中的有效性还不太清楚。我们探讨了一种名为“医疗保健提供者正念”（MHP）的改良版 MBSR 对减轻 EMS 提供者的痛苦和促进幸福感的影响。
进行了一项单臂试点研究。我们实施了八次为期两个半小时的“医疗保健提供者正念”课程，最后还有一天的静修。在干预前后评估了可行性、感知压力、职业生活质量和特质正念。职业生活质量量表包括同情满足、倦怠和二次创伤的衡量标准。
15 名经验丰富的 EMS 提供者参加了该课程；有 4 名参与者中途退出。在开始研究之前，未参加研究的人员（n=48）和参加研究的人员（n=11）之间没有明显差异。干预后，与项目开始时相比，EMS 提供者在同情满足、特质正念方面的得分显著增加，在倦怠方面的得分显著降低。这些变化在完成后六个月内持续存在。在二次创伤或感知压力方面，未发现随时间的显著变化。
据我们所知，这项研究是首次在 EMS 人群中使用“医疗保健提供者正念”，并证明了它对该人群的自我报告的同情、特质正念和倦怠产生了积极影响。应该进行更多关于 EMS 人群中的正念训练的研究，以进一步了解正念与感知压力之间的关系随时间的变化。
