Background
Mindfulness, metta and tonglen meditation
Aims and contribution to the field
Methods
Design
Measures
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1. Demographic and participation/program attendance data
-
2. Satisfaction data
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3. Comparative Self-Assessment (CSA)
Participants
Course
Introductory Day (1) | Mindfulness-Days (7) | Prep. Evening Seminars (6) | Additional Practices |
---|---|---|---|
Duration: 6 h | Duration: 8 h | Duration: 1.5 h | |
Project presentation | Hourly 5–15 min guided meditation (announcement: sounding singing bowl) | Theoretical input | Metta/Tonglen practice during patient care/contact with relatives |
Background information | One-to-one sessions or guidance if needed | Introduction of new techniques | Mindful breaks |
Basic techniques of mindfulness meditation (e.g. sitting, walking and breathing meditation) | “by the way” practices (see additional practices) | Practice time | Practice anchors during daily work routines |
Self-care and compassion | Reflection and exchange | Meditation at home with audio CD |
Data collection
Statistical analysis
Qualitative analysis
Results
Demographic data
Profession (frequencies) | |
---|---|
Nurses | 12 (50%) |
Physicians | 6 (25%) |
Physiotherapists | 2 (8%) |
Psycho-oncologists | 2 (8%) |
Massage Therapists | 1 (4%) |
Administration assistant | 1 (4%) |
Median age (range) | 39.5 (26–62) years |
Gender | |
Female | 20 (83%) |
Male | 4 (17%) |
Previous experience with mindfulness
No experience | 10 (42%) | |
Previous experience | 14 (58%) | Free text field answers: Walking meditation, Shi-Bashi, Qui-Gong, fragrance meditation Autogenic training Everything I do, I do consciously (I try to) Literature “The Little Everyday Buddhist” Years of meditation experience Global issue of mindfulness, with patients Short meditation sessions in one holiday Guided meditations (audio CD) As part of my psychomotor training 7 (8) week training after J. Kabat-Zinn and 2 × 5 days meditation and mindfulness training Progressive muscle relaxation 2 weeks evening group mindfulness Breathing exercises, meditation |
Participation
Participation | value |
---|---|
Participation on the introductory seminar day (Saturday) | 18/25 (72%) |
Participation in at least 4 of the 7 Mindfulness-Days | 14/24 (58%) |
Median (range) of attended Mindfulness-Days (7) | 4 (0–7) |
Participation on at least 4 of the 6 prep. evening seminars | 12/25 (48%) |
Median (range) of attended prep. evening seminars (6) | 3 (0–5) |
Satisfaction data
VARIABLE1 | MEAN (SD) |
---|---|
Satisfaction with the Course | 2.21 (1.22) |
Recommendation for palliative care | 1.50 (0.70) |
Satisfaction with meditation teacher | 1.75 (0.78) |
Qualitative data
Category | Codes | Examples |
---|---|---|
The Course
| Trainer |
“the benevolent charisma of the mentor”
“I personally didn't like the way the instructions were given”
|
Techniques |
“Variety of applications of mindfulness”
“I like the idea/concept of the course”
| |
Professional Life
| Implementation |
“The implementation into the daily routine of the hospital through short practice units is possible”
|
Effects |
“Perhaps the participants are now more mindful of themselves but not of their colleagues.”
“to do something for yourself during working hours”
| |
Personal Life
| Implementation |
“Variety of uses for mindfulness in everyday life”
“the journey through the body”
“the benevolent heart”
|
Effects |
“positive mood changes after the exercises”
“In one of the mindfulness days I came with physical complaints (neck) that had completely disappeared after the meditation!”
| |
Empathy
|
“Feeling empathy for my partner, my counterpart”
“Empathy—> Compassion” |
CSA-Gain
No | Item | n | CSAGain (%) | 95% CI | SE (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Changes to Attitude | |||||
14 | I can see my mistakes and difficulties without judging myself for them | 21 | 12.7 | -2.3–27.7 (n.s.) | 7.2 |
17 | I can perceive my feelings without losing myself in them or suffering from them | 21 | 13.9 | -5.9–33.6 (n.s.) | 9.5 |
15 | I am patient with myself | 21 | 14.2 | 2.0–26.4 | 5.8 |
7a | I experience a mindful contact with the other team members | 21 | 15.1 | -0.1–30.2 (n.s.) | 7.3 |
8 | I take time to eat (eat mindfully) | 21 | 16.3 | 3.1–29.5 | 6.3 |
10a | Even in difficult situations I can adopt a compassionate attitude towards myself and others | 21 | 16.7 | 1.7–31.6 | 7.2 |
16a | I am patient with others | 21 | 16.9 | -2.9–36.7 (n.s.) | 9.5 |
4 | Even in stressful or strained situations, I maintain contact with a kind of inner peace within myself | 21 | 17.5 | 1.5–33.4 | 7.6 |
2 | I use mindfulness/self-care techniques at home in everyday life | 21 | 18.7 | 1.3–36.0 | 8.3 |
13 | I can value myself | 20 | 20.8 | 2.8–38.9 | 8.6 |
6 | When I notice feelings of physical tension and discomfort, I address them in terms of self-care | 21 | 21.5 | 4.9–38.1 | 8.0 |
18 | During my work I feel connected to the “here and now” | 21 | 24.6 | 2.5–46.7 | 10.6 |
12 | When I am stressed or tense, I can consciously relax | 21 | 24.6 | 8.9–40.3 | 7.5 |
Implementation | |||||
22 | I can use Tonglen to make stressful situations more bearable | 21 | 26.2 | 11.6–40.8 | 7.0 |
5 | I notice feelings of physical tension and discomfort early on | 20 | 27.5 | 10.3–44.7 | 8.2 |
9 | I have an “anchor” that grounds me and brings me into the “here and now”, e.g. between two patient conversations | 21 | 28.6 | 10.9–46.3 | 8.5 |
3 | I integrate mindfulness/self-care techniques into my professional everyday life on the palliative care ward | 21 | 31.7 | 14.5–49.0 | 8.3 |
11 | By using mindfulness techniques, I can gather strength during a working day | 21 | 34.1 | 18.2–50.1 | 7.6 |
1 | I am familiar with mindfulness/self-care techniques | 21 | 34.5 | 12.4–56.7 | 10.6 |
Knowledge and Techniques | |||||
20 | I can use Metta meditation (compassion) to experience stressful situations more bearably | 21 | 38.5 | 22.6–54.4 | 7.6 |
21 | I am familiar with Tonglen (give and take meditation) | 20 | 41.3 | 22.9–59.6 | 8.8 |
19 | I am familiar with Metta meditation (compassion) | 21 | 49.4 | 30.3–68.5 | 9.1 |
Discussion
Feasibility and acceptance
Satisfaction and influence
Teaching concrete course content
Competency | Category | Items | Mean CSA Gain (%) |
---|---|---|---|
Professional Competence | Knowledge | 19, 20, 21 | 43.1 |
Skills | 1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 22 | 28.5 | |
Personal Competence | Social Competence | 7, 10, 16 | 16.2 |
Independencea | 2, 4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18 | 15.4 |