Effects of Mindfulness Training on Emotional Care

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
Teachers in Hong Kong are susceptible to professional stress and its associated psychosomatic illnesses. To enhance teachers' well-being, mindfulness training is conducted in local schools. The present study is a randomized controlled trial to investigate 1) the effects of mindfulness training on teachers' well-being (i.e. general health, positive affect, life satisfaction, stress, negative affect), and 2) the mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of mindfulness (i.e. emotional care strategies including anchoring, decentering, and acceptance). Participants will be randomized to either intervention (8-week .b Foundations/ .begin course) or waiting-list control condition. They will complete survey before (baseline), after (post-intervention), and two-months (follow-up) after the intervention.

Official Title
-----------------
Effects of Mindfulness Training on Emotional Care

Conditions
-----------------
Mental Health Issue

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Behavioral: 8-week mindfulness program


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: Aged 18 years old or above Working in local schools or education institutions Willing to participate in mindfulness training voluntarily Exclusion Criteria: Experiencing severe or unstable mental health condition currently Completed 8-week mindfulness training previously Unwilling to go by random assignment

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: 8-week mindfulness program<br>8-week .b Foundations course | Behavioral: 8-week mindfulness program<br>* The .b Foundations course is an 8-week mindfulness program developed by Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) for school teachers and personnel. It includes a taster session and 8 weekly sessions. Each session lasts for 1.5 hours with a specific theme (e.g. Lesson 1 waking up from autopilot). Formal and informal mindfulness practices (e.g. mindful eating, body scan, mindful walking, habit releaser etc.), psychoeducation, cognitive exercises, inquiry, and home practice are involved.<br>|
| No Intervention: Wait-list control<br>Participants in wait-list control group will receive the same intervention, two months after their counterparts in experimental group completed the intervention. | |

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in General Health | General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), 12 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Stress | Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), 10 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Anchoring | 5 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Decentering | Non Reactivity Subscale of Chinese Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-C), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Acceptance | Acceptance subscale of Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), 3 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in Life satisfaction | Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, 5 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Positive affect | Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Negative affect | Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Reappraisal | Reappraisal subscale of Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), 6 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Suppression | Suppression subscale of Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), 4 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Distraction | 5 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Mindfulness | Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), 12 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
mindfulness, teacher mental health, emotional care, mindfulness-based intervention for teachers