A Brief Mindfulness-Based Self-Care Curriculum for an Interprofessional Group of Palliative Care Providers

Mindfulness-based interventions for health care providers have shown benefits for provider wellbeing and for their patients, but established programs are time-intensive. To establish the feasibility of a brief mindfulness-based curriculum focused on self-care for an interprofessional group of palliative care providers within the regular workday, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum in improving the levels of burnout, mindfulness, use of mindfulness meditation practices, and stress levels. Pre-, one-week post-, and seven-month post-intervention survey assessment. The intervention was conducted in five monthly one-hour sessions. Participants were 29 mixed-professional-background usual-attendees of a monthly educational conference in a well-established palliative care group within an academic medical center. Paired, confidential assessments using validated scales (the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Ten-item Perceived Stress Scale), report of use of informal and formal mindfulness techniques, narrative data, and satisfaction ratings. Participants reported high satisfaction with the series and showed statistically significant improvements in dimensions of mindfulness and mindfulness practices, sustained for seven months. Burnout levels in this group were much lower than reported national rates; no statistically significant change was seen in burnout over the study period. Narrative data demonstrated retention of curricular content. Delivery of a mindfulness-based self-care series to an interprofessional group of palliative care providers within the regular workday was feasible, well received, and associated with increased mindfulness levels, mindfulness practices, and knowledge.