Mindfulness, Compassion and Self-compassion

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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 explore 1) the relationship between mindfulness, common humanity, self-compassion, compassion, and well-being of school teachers; 2) whether mindfulness and common humanity are the antecedents of self-compassion and compassion; 3) the conditions under which compassion and self-compassion are highly correlated. Participants will be randomized to either intervention (8-week .b Foundations course) or waiting-list control condition. They will complete an online survey before (baseline), after (post-intervention), and two-months (follow-up) after the intervention.

Official Title
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Mindfulness, Compassion and Self-compassion

Conditions
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Mental Health Issue

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: 8-week mindfulness program


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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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
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

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


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention group<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?
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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 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 Compassion | Compassion scale, 6 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Self-compassion | Self-compassion scale, 6 items, 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (never) to 5 (always) | Baseline, Immediately after intervention, Two-months after intervention | 
| Change in Common humanity | Common Humanity scale, 10 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
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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mindfulness, teacher mental health, compassion, self-compassion, common humanity, mindfulness-based intervention for teachers