Affiliation:
1. Center for Integrative Health and Wellness, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio
2. Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio
3. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio
4. Department of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, District of Columbia
Abstract
BackgroundPositive effects of mind-body skills programs on participant well-being have been reported in health professions students. The success seen with medical students at this university led to great interest in expanding the mind-body skills program so students in other disciplines could benefit from the program.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a 9-week mind-body skills program on the mental and emotional well-being of multidisciplinary students compared to controls. We also sought to determine if the program’s effects were sustained at 1-year follow-up.MethodsA cross-sectional pre-post survey was administered online via SurveyMonkey to participants of a 9-week mind-body skills program and a control group of students from 7 colleges at a public university from 2017–2019. Students were assessed on validated measures of stress, positive/negative affect, resilience, depression, anxiety, fatigue, sleep disturbance, mindfulness, empathy, and burnout. Scores were analyzed between-groups and within-groups using bivariate and multivariate analyses. A 1-year follow-up was completed on a subset of participants and controls.Results279 participants and 247 controls completed the pre-survey and post-survey (79% response rate; 71% female, 68% white, mean age = 25 years). Participants showed significant decreases in stress, negative affect, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and burnout, while positive affect, resilience, mindfulness, and empathy increased significantly ( P < .05). Only sleep disturbance showed a significant decrease in the control group. Follow-up in a subset of participants showed that only mindfulness remained elevated at 1-year ( P < .05), whereas the significant changes in other well-being measures were not sustained.ConclusionParticipation in a 9-week mind-body skills program led to significant improvement in indicators of well-being in multidisciplinary students. A pilot 1-year follow-up suggests that effects are only sustained for mindfulness, but not other parameters. Future programming should focus on implementing mind-body skills booster sessions to help sustain the well-being benefits.
Funder
University of Cincinnati Provost's Office
Interact for Health
James W. Miller Memorial Fund
1440 Foundation
Cited by
6 articles.
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