DOI: 10.3886/e108743v2
title: Feasibility and effectiveness of an adapted mindfulness-based intervention to reduce stress in the workplace: a non-randomized controlled pilot trial in the Spanish context

description: The prevalence of stress at work is high, contributing to health problems, reduced productivity and a burden for society. Mindfulness-based interventions may reduce stress, but they are very demanding due to the amount of practice required. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of delivering a Workplace-Adapted Mindfulness-Based Intervention (WA-MBI) of 7 weekly, 2-hour sessions to employee volunteers and the potential effectiveness of the WA-MBI in reducing stress. A non-randomized, two-arm, waitlist-controlled feasibility trial was carried out. Measurements were taken in a pre-test, post-test and 6-month follow-up. Recruitment and attrition ratios, acceptability, credibility and perceived stress were assessed. The differences between groups were evaluated using mixed-effects models. A 64.2% reduction from the initial group of volunteers (n=190) to the final group of participants (n=68) was observed. The attrition rate at the 6-month follow-up was 45.6% (n=37). Subjects in the WA-MBI group attended a mean of 4.53 (SD=2.06) sessions. The mean credibility value was 7.58 (SD=1.07). Significant decreases in perceived stress favouring the MBI group at post-test (B=-3.65; p=0.003) and 6-month follow-up (B=-6.20; p&lt;0.001) were observed. The WA-MBI appears to be a feasible and potentially effective programme to reduce stress in the workplace. However, more efforts to improve the practical aspects that favour enrolment and reduce attrition would be desirable.
description: Response Rates: The study was integrated into a voluntarily training course to reduce stress that was offered by the human resources section to the 300 people who were working in the central delegation of a Spanish transport company in February 2018. A total of 190 workers agreed to participate in the study on the condition of being able to choose the group in which they would participate; thus, randomization was not viable. <br> From all of the volunteers who initially agreed to participate, a total of 122 workers did not complete the baseline assessment and were therefore excluded from the study. The participants were allowed to choose the group in which they wished to participate, with 32 of them included in the experimental group and 36 in the wait-list control group, for a total of 68 participants at baseline. <br>
description: Presence of Common Scales: Psychological scales:<br> -Perceived Stress Scale (PSS): The scale is composed of 10 items asking about the frequency of thoughts and feelings experienced during the last month with a Likert-type scale with 5 response options, from 0 (‘never’) to 4 (‘very often’).<br><br>-Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (SWEMWBS): It is a self-report questionnaire that is composed of 7 items that are ranked by a Likert-type scale from 1 (‘never’) to 5 (‘always’). <br><br>-Work Satisfaction Scale (WSS): It asks about 5 topics: the relationship with the superior, relationships with other workers, the level of assigned responsibility, acknowledgement obtained for work well done and attention to suggestions. The degree of satisfaction for each of these items is assessed using a Likert-type scale with 7 response options, from 1 (‘very unsatisfied’) to 7 (‘very satisfied’). <br><br>- Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ): Respondents indicate on a 5-point Likert-type scale the degree to which each item is true for them, from 1 (‘never true’) to 5 (‘always true’). <br><br><br>Socio-demographic variables: age, sex, relationship (yes, no), number of children, residence (urban, non-urban), level of education (primary, secondary, university), years of service, sick leave in the last year (yes, no), type of contract (temporary, permanent), income satisfaction (not satisfied, slightly satisfied, moderately satisfied, very satisfied), minutes of vigorous weekly physical activity, and mindfulness practice during the previous six months (yes, no). <br><br>Adaption of the ‘Credibility/Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ): This scale comprises 6 items rated between 0 (‘not at all’) and 10 (‘very much’) and assesses how logical, successful, recommendable, useful, helpful and non-aversive the intervention is. The internal consistency for the total score (that ranges between 0 and 10). <br>
description: web-based survey~~
description: People who were working in the central delegation of a Spanish transport company in February 2018 <br>
description: Non-randomized, two-arm, waitlist-controlled feasibility trial.