research proposal
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Literature Review Draft
Cristina Lopez
NURS540
03/17/2024
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Literature Review Draft
The nurses’ well-being is significantly challenged by the demanding and high-pressure
environment of Intensive Care Units (ICUs). A highly stressful environment is what nurses in
ICUs are exposed to, which poses a threat to their welfare. In ICUs, burnout among nurses is
common and this reduces job satisfaction as well as patient care quality. Various mindfulness-
based interventions have been found to reduce stress and enhance mental health for different
healthcare professionals. This literature review therefore examines on how mindfulness-based
therapies decrease stress amongst ICU nurses, while at the same time critically evaluating
scholarly sources that appraise the efficacy of mindfulness therapies and their applicability to
specific causes of stress among ICU nursing staff.
Fadzil et al. (2021) discovered that nurses practicing a MBI program had considerably
lower stress perception scores. If this technique is combined with monthly practice sessions and
daily online reminders, it could go a long way in reducing stress among nurses. Mindfulness may
also help to avoid disturbing thoughts and emotions and minimize post-treatment anxiety levels.
Depression scores did not decrease. Othman et al. (2023) found that completing a mindfulness-
based intervention program significantly minimized stress perception scores among nurses. The
program helped participants become mindful of present-moment experiences and consciously
aware of stressful events, promoting adaptation to stress and cognitive change. Mindfulness
practice increases awareness of self-kindness, reduces negative cognition and self-judgment, and
reduces post-anxiety. The study shows that MBI can reduce stress-induced physiological
reactivity, improve provider performance, and reduce compassion fatigue and stress.
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Wang et al. (2023) claim that Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have reduced the
symptoms of psychological challenges like depression, anxiety, and stress in nurses. The results
revealed that MBSR had small to big positive effects on stress and burnout upon finishing for
immediate post-intervention and in the short-term. About whether MBSR could be helpful in the
treatment of anxiety and mood disorders. Sulosaari et al. (2022) prove that mindfulness-based
interventions (MBIs) help nurses improve their psychological well-being, reducing stress. The
study reported that MBIs are effective in improving psychological well-being, where most
showed improvement. The findings suggest that these programs reduce nurses' stress and make
them healthier, demonstrating how mindful practices in healthcare environments like ICUs can
benefit them.
Hayajneh et al. (2024) report that high levels of sleeplessness and anxiety are experienced
by ICU nurses, making their lives difficult. Using Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs)
reduced stress levels significantly among the intervention group as opposed to those who
watched videos on mindfulness in the comparison group. It, therefore, implies that MBIs can
efficiently lower pressure and enhance sleep quality in high-stress clinical settings for nurses.
The implications of these findings are that incorporating mindfulness interventions into nursing
practice will help nurses cope with stressors better and promote their general well-being.
According to Tripathi and Mulkey (2023), the use of short mindfulness-based practices in
shift huddles, reduces certain dimensions of empathy weariness like burnout and secondary
traumatic stress after having. Nurses say that they engage in some momentary sessions of
mindfulness during their shift handovers so as to help them cope with work-related stresses. This
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implies that short mindfulness-based interventions might promote compassion satisfaction
among nurses while decreasing measures of compassion fatigue.
Conclusion
Literature proof that Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) reduce stress of ICU
nurses. Mindfulness training minimizes challenges, enhances mental health, and reduces ICU
nurse burnout. Incorporating MBIs with regular practice sessions and online reminders can
strengthen the effects of MBIs in reducing stress. The therapies may reduce anxiety, improve
sleep, and address compassion fatigue for general well-being. The study recommends mindful
techniques in nursing education and everyday routines to promote resilience and coping in the
stressful ICU environment. Mindfulness-based interventions Can be employed by many nurses to
help adhere to work situations and improve patient care.
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References
Fadzil, N. A., Heong, W. O., Kueh, Y. C., & Phang, C. K. (2021). The effect of a mindfulness-
based intervention on nurses in Kelantan, Malaysia. The Malaysian Journal of Medical
Sciences: MJMS, 28(6), 121–128. https://doi.org/10.21315/mjms2021.28.6.12
Hayajneh, A. A., Al-Younis, M. O., & Rababa, M. (2024). The effect of a mindfulness
intervention (MI) on sleep disturbance (SD) among nurses. Scientific Reports, 14(1),
5084. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55748-5
Othman, S. Y., Hassan, N. I., & Mohamed, A. M. (2023). Effectiveness of mindfulness-based
interventions on burnout and self-compassion among critical care nurses caring for
patients with COVID-19: a quasi-experimental study. BMC Nursing, 22(1). https://
doi.org/10.1186/s12912-023-01466-8
Sulosaari, V., Unal, E., & Cinar, F. I. (2022). The effectiveness of mindfulness-based
interventions on the psychological well-being of nurses: A systematic review. Applied
Nursing Research, 64, 151565. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2022.151565
Tripathi, S., & Mulkey, D. (2023). Implementing brief mindfulness-based interventions to reduce
compassion fatigue. Critical Care Nurse, 43(5), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.4037/
ccn2023745
Wang, Q., Wang, F., Zhang, S., Liu, C., Feng, Y., & Chen, J. (2023). Effects of a mindfulness-
based interventions on stress, burnout in nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1218340. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1218340