Participant Engagement in and Perspectives on a Web-Based Mindfulness Intervention for 9-1-1 Telecommunicators:...

Area of Science:

• Occupational health
• Psychology
• Digital health interventions

Background:

• 9-1-1 telecommunicators face high stress due to demanding work and trauma exposure.
• Web-based mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can reduce stress but may suffer from low engagement.
• Understanding engagement is crucial for optimizing MBI effectiveness in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess participant engagement in a Web-based MBI for 9-1-1 telecommunicators.
• To identify participant characteristics associated with intervention engagement.
• To explore participant perspectives on engagement, including challenges and facilitators.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative and quantitative data from 149 participant surveys were analyzed.
• Descriptive and bivariate analyses identified associations between characteristics and engagement.
• Thematic analysis of qualitative responses explored participant experiences with the MBI.

Main Results:

• No individual participant characteristics correlated with engagement levels (lessons completed).
• Engagement varied significantly by call center (P<.001).
• Key themes included perceived benefits of mindfulness (e.g., self-efficacy, empathy), work-related barriers (lack of time), and facilitators (shorter practices, varied content formats).

Conclusions:

• Improving MBI engagement requires focusing on organizational factors, not individual traits.
• Future research should examine mindfulness's impact on 9-1-1 telecommunicator efficiency and effectiveness.
• Mindfulness interventions can be tailored to address workplace challenges and enhance telecommunicator well-being.