Mindful Hand Hygiene for Burnout
What You Need to Know Before You Apply
What is the purpose of this trial?
This trial aims to determine if practicing mindfulness can help VA physicians and nurses manage stress and improve hand hygiene. Participants will either engage in mindfulness activities, such as using handwashing as a moment to focus and clear their minds, or be observed for their current hand hygiene habits. The trial will assess whether those practicing mindfulness experience improved well-being and adhere to better hand hygiene practices. Nurses and physicians working on inpatient medical teams, excluding medical students and certain specialists, may be eligible to participate. As an unphased trial, this study offers participants the opportunity to contribute to innovative research that could enhance well-being and professional practices.
Do I need to stop my current medications for this trial?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It seems unlikely since the study focuses on mindfulness and hand hygiene.
What prior data suggests that this mindfulness intervention is safe for healthcare professionals?
Research shows that mindfulness training is generally safe and well-tolerated by participants. Studies have found that mindfulness can improve stress, burnout, and overall mental health. For example, some research found that mindfulness training reduced stress and burnout among nurses. Other studies have shown that mindfulness programs can enhance depression and sleep quality.
No major reports of negative effects from mindfulness practices exist, making them a low-risk option for participants. This suggests that using mindfulness techniques, such as the mindful hand hygiene approach in this study, is likely safe for most people.12345Why are researchers excited about this trial?
Researchers are excited about the Mindful Hand Hygiene intervention because it merges mindfulness practices with routine hand hygiene to tackle burnout, a novel approach not typically seen with standard burnout treatments like therapy or medication. Unlike traditional methods that focus solely on mental health through counseling or stress management techniques, this treatment integrates mindfulness into daily activities, making it more accessible and potentially more sustainable for individuals. By using hand hygiene as a prompt to practice mindfulness, it encourages regular and mindful engagement throughout the day, which could lead to improved mental well-being and reduced burnout symptoms over time.
What evidence suggests that the Mindful Hand Hygiene intervention could be effective for reducing burnout?
Research shows that mindfulness activities can help nurses feel better by reducing stress and burnout. These activities, such as mindfulness training and exercises, lower burnout in healthcare workers. Mindfulness also reduces ongoing stress, leading to greater job satisfaction and a desire to remain in the job. While some shorter mindfulness programs have not been very effective, others have successfully improved nurses' well-being. In this trial, participants in the Mindful Hand Hygiene Intervention arm will practice mindfulness during routine tasks like handwashing, potentially boosting mental health and reducing burnout among healthcare professionals.24678
Who Is on the Research Team?
Michael Todd Greene, PhD MPH BS
Principal Investigator
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI
Sanjay K. Saint, MD MPH
Principal Investigator
VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI
Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?
This trial is for nurses and physicians working in certain medical units, including attending, senior resident, and intern physicians. It's not open to medical students or surgeons. Participants should be interested in using mindfulness to improve their well-being and hand hygiene practices.Inclusion Criteria
Exclusion Criteria
Timeline for a Trial Participant
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
Habituation
Baseline data on hand hygiene adherence and duration collected; providers habituated to observers
Intervention
Participants complete mindfulness education modules and group discussions; hand hygiene used as mindfulness prompt
Post-Intervention
Participants complete surveys and hand hygiene observations continue to assess sustainability
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for sustainability of mindfulness and hand hygiene practices
What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?
Interventions
- Mindful Hand Hygiene
Trial Overview
The study tests a mindful hand hygiene intervention among VA healthcare workers to see if it boosts their focus, mental clarity, overall well-being, and proper use of hand hygiene. The program includes education on mindfulness, group discussions, and an optional app—all centered around using hand washing as a cue for mindfulness.
How Is the Trial Designed?
2
Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Participants in the Mindful Hand Hygiene Intervention will complete the same surveys as participants in the Control Arm at baseline, post-intervention, and 6-months post-intervention. Data will also be collected on baseline hand-hygiene rates during the habituation period, intervention period, and 3-12 months post-intervention. In addition, intervention participants will be asked to complete 3 mindfulness online educational modules and attend group-facilitated discussions on mindfulness. They will be offered the option of using a mobile application program "Mindfulness Coach" to enhance their mindfulness practices. A key message of the intervention is using hand hygiene as a prompt to practice mindfulness.
Participants that are assigned to the control arm will be observed for hand hygiene adherence and duration during the habituation period, intervention period, and 3-12 months post-intervention. They will also be asked to complete study surveys at baseline, post-intervention and 6-months post intervention. They will not receive any of the intervention components.
Find a Clinic Near You
Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
VA Office of Research and Development
Lead Sponsor
Citations
Effects of a mindfulness-based interventions on stress ...
Mindfulness-based training may be a viable intervention for improving the psychological wellbeing of nurses, including reducing stress, burnout.
2.
myamericannurse.com
myamericannurse.com/mindfulness-and-hand-hygiene-to-improve-burnout-compassion-satisfaction-and-secondary-traumatic-stress-in-interdisciplinary-teams-a-quality-improvement-project/Mindfulness and Hand Hygiene to Improve Burnout ...
The literature supports that BO reduction programs addressing chronic stress can reduce the retraining costs of nurses and healthcare workers.
Person-directed burnout intervention for nurses: A systematic ...
Mindfulness-based interventions and cognitive-behavioral therapy, either combined or alone, were shown to be effective in reducing nurses’ burnout.
Effectiveness of Workplace Interventions to Improve Health ...
A brief mindfulness-based intervention (4 or 5 weeks) also failed to reduce emotional exhaustion or depersonalization [71,72] or improve personal accomplishment ...
5.
hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu
hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/context/son_dnp/article/1142/viewcontent/finalDNPpaper.pdfMindfulness-Based Intervention to Improve Caregiver Well ...
Evidence suggests that MBIs help reduce stress reactions and burnout (Zeller & Levin, 2013). Therefore, a mindfulness-based intervention was ...
The impact of mindfulness training on infection prevention ...
Mindfulness training was associated with improvements in hand hygiene, PPE use, reduced medical errors, and increased self-reported wellness in ...
7.
bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com
bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-024-17759-9Effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program ...
The results of this study showed that MBSR can be effective in reducing depression levels, improving emotion regulation, and sleep quality among depressed ...
Psychological Group Interventions for Reducing Distress ...
The results did not show a substantial reduction in burnout levels in the experimental group. However, during follow-up, stress decreased by ...
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