Medicine

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Improving psychological well-being among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic with an online mindfulness intervention: A randomised waitlist-controlled trial
(Wiley, 2024) Baminiwatta, A.; Fernando, R.; Solangaarachchi, I.; Abayabandara-Herath, T.; Wickremasinghe, A.R.; Hapangama, A.
The high prevalence of psychological problems observed among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic called for interventions to safeguard their mental health. We assessed the effectiveness of a 6-week online mindfulness-based intervention in improving well-being and reducing stress among HCWs in Sri Lanka. Eighty HCWs were recruited and randomised into two groups: waitlist-control (WLC) and intervention groups. In the intervention, 1-hour online sessions were conducted at weekly intervals and participants were encouraged to do daily home practice. Stress and well-being were measured pre- and post-intervention using the Perceived Stress Scale and WHO-5 Well-being Index, respectively. One-way analysis of covariance was used to evaluate the effectiveness, in both intention-to-treat (ITT) and complete-case (CC) analyses. A significantly greater improvement in well-being occurred in the intervention arm compared to WLC on both ITT (p = .002) and CC analyses (p < .001), with medium-to-large effect sizes (partial η2 = .117-.278). However, the reduction in stress following the intervention was not significant compared to the WLC group on both ITT (p = .636) and CC analyses (p = .262). In the intervention arm, the median number of sessions attended by participants was 3. Low adherence to the intervention may have contributed to the apparent non-significant effect on stress.
Trait mindfulness, compassion, and stigma towards patients with mental Illness: A study among nurses in Sri Lanka
(Springer, 2023) Baminiwatta, A.; Alahakoon, H.; Herath, N.C.; Kodithuwakku, K.M.; Nanayakkara, T.
OBJECTIVES: Stigma towards persons with mental illness is widespread. Mindfulness may protect against stigma by cultivating accepting attitudes, non-reactivity, and prosocial emotions. This study aimed to assess whether higher trait mindfulness among nurses was linked to lower stigma towards psychiatric patients, and whether compassion mediated this relationship. METHOD: In this cross-sectional study among nurses in four tertiary care hospitals in Sri Lanka, stigma towards psychiatric patients was assessed using the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ-9), which assesses nine separate domains of stigma. The 20-item Six-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the 5-item Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale were used to assess mindfulness and compassion, respectively. Correlations among these variables were explored. Mediation analyses were performed. RESULTS: A total of 405 nurses (90.6% female, mean age = 39.6 years) participated in the study. Those with higher trait mindfulness were more likely to believe they would help a person with mental illness, and less likely to believe a person with mental illness should be avoided or segregated from the society. Compassion was inversely correlated with avoidance and anger, and positively correlated with pity, helping, and coercion domains. Trait mindfulness was positively correlated with compassion. Mediation models revealed that compassion partially mediated the effects of trait mindfulness on helping and avoidance. Facet-level analyses revealed significant effects of describing, non-reactivity, and observing on several stigma domains mediated through compassion. CONCLUSIONS: Trait mindfulness among nurses appears to have a direct buffering effect against several domains of stigma towards psychiatric patients and significant indirect effects through compassion, albeit with small effect sizes.
Psychometric evaluation of a Sinhalese version of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire and development of a six-facet short form in a Sri Lankan buddhist context
(Springer, 2022) Baminiwatta, A.; Alahakoon, H.; Herath, N.C.; Kodithuwakku, K.M.; Nanayakkara, T.
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Sinhalese version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), including its factor structure, internal consistency and convergent validity, in an exclusively Buddhist population. METHODS: The FFMQ was translated to Sinhalese using forward and backward translation, expert consensus and pretesting. The translated questionnaire was administered to a sample of 415 nurses (90.8% female; mean age = 39 years; 100% Buddhists), from 4 hospitals in Sri Lanka. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS)-21 was administered concurrently. A series of empirical factor models were tested for fit using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to explore alternative factor structures. Internal consistency was measured using Cronbach α. RESULTS: The original five-factor structure, either as first-order or hierarchical models, showed poor fit in the present population. EFA supported a six-factor structure, where the original Actaware facet splits into two facets, namely, Distract and Autopilot. A 20-item short form composed of 3–4 items from each of the six facets, selected based on factor loadings and item-total correlations, showed excellent CFA model fit. Internal consistencies of the 20-item scale (α = 0.7) and the five subscales (α = 0.67–0.72) were satisfactory. Overall mindfulness showed moderate negative correlations with depression, anxiety and stress; and all facets except Observe and Describe correlated negatively with psychological problems. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings endorse a six-factor structure of mindfulness, which had been proposed in a few previous studies. A modified 20-item short form with six facets shows satisfactory psychometric properties.
Validation of a Sinhalese version of the mindful attention awareness scale
(Elsevier, 2022) Baminiwatta, A.
No abstract available

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