Date of Paper/Work
5-2023
Type of Paper/Work
Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Jessica Miehe
Abstract
Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) nurses experience the effects of stress and burnout due to the challenging environments they work in. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques, including smartphone applications, have been studied extensively, and evidence has shown that even brief exercises effectively reduce stress.
Purpose: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to examine the feasibility and effect of the smartphone application Insight Timer on stress and burnout among ICU nurses who work in a large northern Nevada hospital.
Methods: This quality improvement project invited ten ICU nurses to participate in this project through convenience sampling. Participants completed a pre-, mid-, and post-intervention measurement of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Each participant completed at least a daily five-minute mindfulness session for six weeks using the free version of the Insight Timer app.
Results: Results showed that the ICU nurses experienced significant decreases in perceived stress (Pre-intervention PSS: 25.4; Post- intervention PSS: 19.8) and burnout (Pre-intervention MBI: 94.9; Post-intervention MBI: 77.5) scores. The analyzed data revealed statistical significance with paired t-tests from pre- and post- test interventions.
Conclusion: This mindfulness-based intervention offers an opportunity for hospital leadership to improve employees’ well-being as the no-cost intervention may help build a healthier workforce. Future studies are recommended to assess the intervention’s effectiveness on other high-stress healthcare professions. (Sasidharan & Dhillon, 2021).
Recommended Citation
Gutierrez, Taralyn R.. (2023). Improving Intensive Care Unit Nurses’ Well-Being through Implementation of a Mindfulness Training Program. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/dnp_projects/195