Brief mindfulness programme for hospital workers: Staff wellbeing training in the pre-launching phase of a public hospital

Abstract

Background: Uncertainty appears to be one of the contributing factors to poor wellbeing and efficacy among employees. While mindfulness has been substantially investigated as a stress-reduction approach over the past decade, its application in the context of Asian workplace is worth exploring. Given that there is a new public hospital to be established in Hong Kong, a 4-hour mindfulness training was provided to their hospital team, including clinical and non-clinical staff, six months before the commencement of clinical service. Objective: To examine the outcomes of a brief mindfulness training in nurturing wellbeing and efficacy among hospital workers during the stressful pre-launching phase. Research design: The study was conducted between July 2018 and October 2018, involving 130 hospital staff who was employed by the hospital. Staff was invited to fill in a questionnaire at the beginning of the first session (T0) and after completion of the second session (T1) in the training. General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS) and General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) were adopted to assess the changes. Results: Significant improvement was found among the participants in their general health, from T0 (M = 12.43, S.D. = 4.70) to T1 (M = 11.48, S.D. = 2.24); t(92) = -2.084, p = .040. For self-compassion, significant change was found in a subscale, with the mean score in over-identification reduced from 3.18 (S.D. = 0.83) to 2.96 (S.D. = 0.73); t(97) = -4.223, p < .001. The general self-efficacy was also found to be significantly increased between T0 (M = 24.1, S.D. = 4.44) and T1 (M = 25.02, S.D. = 4.42); t(96) = 2.358, p = .020. Conclusion: Instead of alleviating stress transiently, a brief mindfulness training was effective to enhance their general health and self-efficacy, as well as develop self-compassion. This study demonstrated how mindfulness can be practically introduced in local public hospital during a stressful working phase. Keywords: mindfulness, hospital, well-being