Clinical trial NCT04936893: Effects of Mindfulness Practice on Healthcare Workers
Official title: Effects of Mindfulness Practice on Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) Pandemic
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Psychological Burnout
Lead sponsor: Yale-NUS College
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
First posted: 2021-06-23
Enrollment: 80
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 21
Maximum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: This study aims to examine the effects of mindfulness practice administered using a mobile app on psychological health among health care workers in Singapore.

Detailed description: Research has shown that health workers are particularly at risk of experiencing heightened risks of burnout and psychological symptoms when dealing with a health pandemic, including the current COVID-19 pandemic (Lai et al., 2020; Tan et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2009). The increased risk reflects an urgent need to develop feasible psychological interventions to mitigate burnout and psychological symptoms among health workers. The present study aims to examine the effects of a brief mindfulness intervention delivered using a mobile application (HeadSpace) on psychological functioning in the context of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of health workers in Singapore. A total of 80 health workers will be recruited and randomly assigned to using a mindfulness practice app or a cognitive games app daily over a period of 21 days. They will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and at one-month follow-up on depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, burnout, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, post-traumatic stress symptoms, trait mindfulness, self-compassion, sleep quality, working memory, and fear of COVID-19 infection. Results of the study will have implications on developing cost-effective interventions to mitigate psychological symptoms among health workers in the context of heightened pandemic-related stress.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* aged between 21 and 60
* being a health care worker based in Singapore
* proficient in English
* owns a smartphone (iOS or Android) with Wi-Fi or data access.

Exclusion Criteria:

-Regular mindfulness practice, defined by practicing a minimum of two to three times a week for 10 to 15 minutes each time within the past six months.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Depression
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: Anxiety
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: Fear of COVID-19
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: Burnout, Compassion Satisfaction, and Secondary Traumatic Stress
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: Sleep Quality
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: Working Memory
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: PTSD symptoms
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Trait Mindfulness
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
measure: Self-Compassion
timeFrame: Change from Baseline to Within 7 Days Post intervention
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Singapore
country: Singapore
facility: Yle-NUS College
Study officials:
affiliation: Yale-NUS College
name: Shian-Ling Keng, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Keng SL, Chin JWE, Mammadova M, Teo I. Effects of Mobile App-Based Mindfulness Practice on Healthcare Workers: a Randomized Active Controlled Trial. Mindfulness (N Y). 2022;13(11):2691-2704. doi: 10.1007/s12671-022-01975-8. Epub 2022 Sep 16.