Pappas, Evangelos et al. (University of Sydney, Australia)
Mindfulness meditation for allied health clinicians and students: a systematic review
Introduction: Physiotherapists (PT) and occupational therapists (OT) commonly suffer from high burnout rates and occupational stress. Several systematic reviews have investigated the benefits of meditation for patients with a variety of pathologies receiving treatment by PT/OT and reported largely positive effects. However, there is currently no systematic review on the effects of meditation on PT/OT.
Methods: Four article databases (Medline, PsycInfo, Cochrane, AMED) were searched using the keywords “meditation”, “mindfulness” in combination with a variety of terms to describe PT/OT. Articles that investigated the effect of meditation on PT/OT or the relevant professional education met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review.
Results: After removing duplicates, 122 articles were screened by title and abstract. Only three articles met the criteria. It was reported that mindfulness can be taught to OT students via an online course (Reid 2013), older professionals and OT had more positive attitudes towards meditation than younger professionals and PT, and that being a meditator was the strongest predictor of using it clinically (Schoenberger, Matheis, Shiflett, & Cotter 2002). The third study reported on OT students who used meditation among other techniques to lead community service health promotion groups and meet their own personal wellness goals (Scott 1999).
Conclusion: There is a dearth of research on the effects of meditation on PT/OT or the educational programmes for these professions. Promising results from studies on medical doctors’ job satisfaction, stress and patient satisfaction suggest that similar studies are needed in the allied health professions.
Mindfulness meditation for allied health clinicians and students: a systematic review
Introduction: Physiotherapists (PT) and occupational therapists (OT) commonly suffer from high burnout rates and occupational stress. Several systematic reviews have investigated the benefits of meditation for patients with a variety of pathologies receiving treatment by PT/OT and reported largely positive effects. However, there is currently no systematic review on the effects of meditation on PT/OT.
Methods: Four article databases (Medline, PsycInfo, Cochrane, AMED) were searched using the keywords “meditation”, “mindfulness” in combination with a variety of terms to describe PT/OT. Articles that investigated the effect of meditation on PT/OT or the relevant professional education met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review.
Results: After removing duplicates, 122 articles were screened by title and abstract. Only three articles met the criteria. It was reported that mindfulness can be taught to OT students via an online course (Reid 2013), older professionals and OT had more positive attitudes towards meditation than younger professionals and PT, and that being a meditator was the strongest predictor of using it clinically (Schoenberger, Matheis, Shiflett, & Cotter 2002). The third study reported on OT students who used meditation among other techniques to lead community service health promotion groups and meet their own personal wellness goals (Scott 1999).
Conclusion: There is a dearth of research on the effects of meditation on PT/OT or the educational programmes for these professions. Promising results from studies on medical doctors’ job satisfaction, stress and patient satisfaction suggest that similar studies are needed in the allied health professions.