Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Mental Health Outcomes in Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Journal of general internal medicine May 19, 2025 Marieke Arts-De Jong, Dirk E M Geurts, Philip Spinhoven et al. 2 citations
A 4-week therapist-assisted mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program was not superior to a minimal self-guided mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for improving mental health among frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a randomized trial with 201 participants, both interventions led to similar, significant reductions in depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms from baseline to 6-month follow-up (Cohen's d -0.78 for MBSR, -0.72 for self-guided MBI). The therapist-assisted MBSR showed a greater reduction in symptoms immediately after the intervention and exclusively increased posttraumatic growth at that point. Both approaches improved posttraumatic symptoms, insomnia, repetitive negative thinking, mental well-being, mindfulness, and self-compassion.