Twelve tips for creating a multicultural mindfulness-based intervention in diverse healthcare settings.

High levels of stress and burnout, low help-seeking behaviour and unhealthy coping in healthcare professionals (HCPs), are a critical concern globally. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) reduce stress, are a healthy coping mechanism and have become increasingly popular among HCPs, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, HCPs' busy schedules require the intervention to be accessible, pragmatic, and context specific. Key to this goal is approaching mindfulness from a multicultural perspective, especially in diverse settings such as Africa. This paper aims to provide practical tips to ensure that the MBI offered is effective with multicultural HCPs during intense stress. Four tips each discuss the curriculum, implementation, and sustainability, respectively. The tips are elucidated by practical examples of regulating stress in healthcare settings and to offer a guideline to help structure future MBIs to be culturally and context appropriate.

Effects of personality traits on mindful self-care practices of healthcare workers.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) placed healthcare professionals (HCPs) at a higher risk for stress-related conditions. Implementing a brief online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) was hypothesised to transform the HCPs' ability to cope with stress by enhancing their self-care. Aim: This study aimed to explore the impact of an online MBI on HCPs' self-care practices and determine if personality traits were a moderating variable. Setting: An online MBI was implemented for HCPs working in South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Methods: A quantitative study design included a pre-assessment and post-assessment component, which allowed paired comparison and regression analysis to confer correlations. Data were collected via two validated instruments: the Mindful Self-Care scale-2018 and the Big Five Personality test. Results: Forty-nine HCPs participated in the study. Significant improvements were found in all the major self-care subscales post-intervention (p < 0.05). No significant associations were found between the personality traits and self-care except for neuroticism, which appeared to be an essential moderating variable. Conclusion: An online MBI significantly impacted health professionals' ability to care for themselves, despite their personality styles. Contribution: The impact of an online MBI on HCPs' self-care during the most intense time of stress and with a cohort of people known to be the most vulnerable to stress, namely those with neuroticism to date, has not been commented on.

Efficacy of a brief online mindfulness-based intervention on the psychological well-being of health care professionals and trainees during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed method design.

BACKGROUND: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health professionals were pushed to the front line of a global health crisis unprepared and resource constrained, which affected their mental well-being. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a brief online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on stress and burnout for health professionals training and working in South Africa during the COVID-19 crisis. SETTING: The context of the study is the overburdened, under-resourced health care system in South Africa during a global pandemic. METHODS: A mixed method framework was adopted for this study. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive analysis and the participants' qualitative experiences were interpreted using interpretative phenomenological analysis. RESULTS: Forty-seven participants took part in this study. The study found a statistically significant (p < 0.05) reduction in stress levels and emotional exhaustion as well as an increase in mindful awareness and feelings of personal accomplishment after the intervention. The participants' shared experiences were analysed in two parts. The pre-intervention analysis presented with central themes of loss of control and a sense of powerlessness because of COVID-19. The post-intervention analysis comprised themes of a sense of acquired control and empowerment through increased mindfulness. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that a brief online MBI can be associated with reduced levels of stress and burnout as well as an increased sense of control and empowerment, felt both personally and professionally, during a global crisis. CONTRIBUTION: The impact of an online MBI for health care professionals amidst a pandemic has not been previously documented.