The College of Education, Health and
Human Sciences
Announces the Final Examination of
Adrian N. Murray
for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
October 29th, 2014 at 9:30 am
103A Ball Hall, University of Memphis
Memphis, TN
Biographical Sketch
Bachelors of Arts, Psychology, Wake Forest University
Masters of Arts, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Ball State University
Advisory Committee
Suzanne H. Lease, PhD, Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, Committee chair
Sara K. Bridges, PhD, Associate Professor, Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research
Sha’Kema M. Blackmon, PhD, Assistant Professor, Counseling , Educational Psychology and Research
Ryan Williams, PhD, Senior Researcher, American Institutes for Research
Major Field of Study
Counseling Psychology
Period of Preparation: 2011-2014
Comprehensive Examination Passed: August 21st, 2013
Taking a cue from the heart: A meta-analysis of mindfulness-based interventions for healthcare providers
Abstract
As the need for healthcare professionals continues to increase, the issue of improving provider self-care becomes ever more salient. One category of approaches to self-care, termed Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs), has been proposed as particularly well suited to addressing the issues of impairment and self-care for healthcare providers. This study sought to synthesize, using meta-analysis, findings from the wealth of recent literature in this area in an effort to provide valuable information about the overall effect of such interventions, as well as the timing and structure necessary to receive benefit. Included are 32 studies that fulfilled the following selection criteria: (1) examined the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions, (2) utilized a sample of healthcare providers, (3) reported results from outcome measures for at least one aspect of positive functioning and/or one aspect of negative functioning, and (4) obtained baseline and post-intervention scores for each participant, finding change across time in comparison to a control group. Studies in which authors examined the effect of an MBI on participants at baseline and post-intervention without comparison to a control group were included if enough information was available to calculate an effect size and the correlation between pre- and post- intervention scores. The results of treatment effects from baseline to post-intervention (positive outcomes d = 0.372, negative outcomes d = -0.403), baseline to follow-up (positive outcomes d = 0.483, negative outcomes d = -0.438), and sensitivity analyses excluding a subset of studies based on methodological concerns (positive outcomes d = 0.396, negative outcomes d = -0.408) support the notion that healthcare provider participation in Mindfulness-Based Interventions is associated with substantial improvements on both positive and negative outcomes. Future research will benefit from further examining the effect of various moderators and comparing MBIs to other self-care approaches as the literature base grows.