Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Buddhism, Psychology and Mental Health Program, New College, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Front Public Health. 2022 Feb 11;10:807792. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.807792. eCollection 2022.
Physician burnout has significant adverse impacts on the wellbeing of individual physicians, and by extension the healthcare delivery systems of which they are part. Mindfulness is consistently cited as a pragmatic approach to effectively address burnout and enhance physician wellbeing. However, very few empirical studies have been published on Mindfulness Based Interventions (MBIs) for physicians. Moreover, the majority of these studies have been quantitative, leaving a gap in understanding the practical application of mindfulness in the context of physicians' daily lives.
This paper outlines the rationale, development and design of a novel prospective qualitative study examining the acceptability, feasibility, and pragmatic application of a mindfulness intervention for physician wellness.
The study will be conducted in three groups of at least 8 practicing physicians from a broad range of medical specialties at a tertiary care hospital in a large urban center in Eastern Canada. The intervention will consist of an innovative program based on the teachings of internationally renowned scholar and Zen Master Thích Nhãt Hạnh. It will include 5 weekly 2-h mindfulness sessions delivered by two health providers trained in mindfulness and in the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. The primary outcome measure will be an in-depth Thematic Analysis of post-program semi-structured interviews. Field data will also be collected through participant observation. The study will be theoretically grounded within the interpretive paradigm utilizing "the Mechanisms of Mindfulness Theory". An external advisory committee formed by four senior members of Thích Nhãt Hạnh's community will provide guidance across all phases of the study.
Our innovative approach provides a new framework to further understand the mechanisms by which mindfulness interventions can impact physician wellbeing, and by extension their patients, colleagues, and broader healthcare systems. Through a clear articulation of the rigorous application of accepted procedures and standards used in our protocol, this paper seeks to provide a roadmap for other researchers who wish to develop further studies in this area. Lessons learned in the preparation and conduction of this study can be applied to other healthcare contexts including non-physician health provider wellbeing, clinical care, and population-level mental health.
医生倦怠对医生个体的健康和他们所服务的医疗保健系统都有重大的负面影响。正念被一致认为是一种有效的解决倦怠和提高医生健康的实用方法。然而，很少有关于医生的正念干预（MBIs）的实证研究发表。此外，这些研究大多是定量的，因此在理解正念在医生日常生活中的实际应用方面存在空白。
本文概述了一项新的前瞻性定性研究的基本原理、开发和设计，该研究旨在考察一种针对医生健康的正念干预措施的可接受性、可行性和实用应用。
该研究将在加拿大东部一个大城市的一家三级保健医院的多个医学专业的至少 8 名执业医生中进行。干预措施将包括一个基于国际知名学者和禅师 Thích Nhãt Hạnh 教义的创新项目。该项目将包括 5 次每周 2 小时的正念课程，由两位经过正念和 Thich Nhat Hanh 教义培训的健康提供者提供。主要的衡量指标将是对方案后半结构化访谈的深入主题分析。通过参与者观察也将收集现场数据。该研究将在解释性范式内进行理论基础研究，利用“正念理论的机制”。一个由 Thích Nhãt Hạnh 社区的四位资深成员组成的外部顾问委员会将为研究的所有阶段提供指导。
我们的创新方法为进一步了解正念干预措施如何影响医生的健康，进而影响他们的患者、同事和更广泛的医疗保健系统提供了一个新的框架。通过清晰地阐述我们方案中使用的严格的应用程序和标准，本文旨在为希望在这一领域开展进一步研究的其他研究人员提供一个路线图。在这项研究的准备和进行过程中吸取的经验教训可以应用于其他医疗保健环境，包括非医生健康提供者的健康、临床护理和人群心理健康。
