Clinical trial NCT06760962: Reflective Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation Training to Enhance Nursing Students' Self-Awareness, Understanding, and Regulation
Official title: Reflective Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation Training to Enhance Nursing Students' Self-Awareness, Understanding, and Regulation: a Mixed Method Randomized Controlled Trial
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Undergraduate Health Professional Students
Keywords: Mindfulness
emotional regulation
nursing students
nursing education
self-awareness
mixed method
Lead sponsor: Alexandria University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Benha University
First posted: 2025-01-07
Enrollment: 40
Sex: ALL
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The RMERT program consisted of six weekly 90-minute sessions facilitated by researchers trained in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and transactional analysis (TA). The training employed the ABC model of CBT (Activating events, Beliefs, and Consequences) to address maladaptive cognitive patterns, along with TA techniques such as empathic inquiry and reflection. Relaxation strategies, including diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, were also integrated. The sessions focused on enabling students to reflect on their mental and emotional states, process their feelings, and apply cognitive reappraisal-a healthy emotional regulation strategy-instead of relying on expressive suppression, which is maladaptive.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: This study assessed the impact of a six-week Reflective Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation Training (RMERT) program on fourth-year nursing students. Using a randomized controlled trial with 40 participants, the intervention group (n=20) received RMERT, while the control group (n=20) continued standard coursework.

Detailed description: This study evaluated the effectiveness of Reflective Mindfulness and Emotional Regulation Training (RMERT) in enhancing nursing students' self-awareness, emotional understanding, and regulation. Nursing students frequently face significant academic and psychological challenges, particularly in mental health nursing courses, which can lead to stress, anxiety, and compromised well-being. RMERT was designed as a psychoeducational intervention integrating mindfulness and emotional regulation techniques to help students develop critical skills for managing these challenges.

Study Design The randomized controlled trial employed a mixed-methods approach and involved 40 fourth-year undergraduate nursing students at Benha University. Participants were randomly allocated into an intervention group (n=20) and a control group (n=20). The intervention group attended a six-week RMERT program, while the control group continued their standard academic activities without additional interventions. Both groups underwent pre- and post-intervention assessments using validated instruments: the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Qualitative data, collected exclusively from the intervention group, were analysed thematically.

Intervention The RMERT program consisted of six weekly 90-minute sessions facilitated by researchers trained in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and transactional analysis (TA). The training employed the ABC model of CBT (activating events, beliefs, and consequences) to address maladaptive cognitive patterns, along with TA techniques such as empathic inquiry and reflection. Relaxation strategies, including diaphragmatic breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, were also integrated. The sessions focused on enabling students to reflect on their mental and emotional states, process their feelings, and apply cognitive reappraisal-a healthy emotional regulation strategy-instead of relying on expressive suppression, which is maladaptive.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Students enroled in the psychiatric/mental health nursing course for the first time, i.e., did not enrol in or join similar or the same course before.
* for example, joined the faculty from the secondary school, not through other paths or bridging educational programs that would include psychiatric/mental health courses/modules as part of their programs
* did not fail the course before or attended it for more time.

Exclusion Criteria:

no

Primary outcomes:
measure: Emotion Regulation Questionnaire
timeFrame: 6 weeks
measure: The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
timeFrame: 6 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Alexandria
country: Egypt
facility: faculty of nursing Alexandria university
state: None Selected
Study officials:
References:
citation: Veigh CM, Reid J, Carswell C, Ace L, Walsh I, Graham-Wisener L, Rej S, Potes A, Atkinson K, Edginton T, Noble H. Mindfulness as a well-being initiative for future nurses: a survey with undergraduate nursing students. BMC Nurs. 2021 Dec 20;20(1):253. doi: 10.1186/s12912-021-00783-0.
citation: McVeigh C, Ace L, Ski CF, Carswell C, Burton S, Rej S, Noble H. Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Undergraduate Nursing Students in a University Setting: A Narrative Review. Healthcare (Basel). 2021 Nov 2;9(11):1493. doi: 10.3390/healthcare9111493.