Pause-4-Providers: A descriptive and qualitative study of drop-in web-based mindfulness sessions to enhance well-being amongst healthcare workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 Pandemic exerted extraordinary pressures on healthcare workers (HCW), imperiling their well-being and mental health. In response to the urgent demand to provide barrier free support for the healthcare workforce, Pause-4-Providers implemented 30-minute live web-based drop-in mindfulness sessions for HCW. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to evaluate the utilization and feasibility of, and satisfaction with a novel web-based live drop-in, mindfulness program aimed at enhancing the well-being of HCW during the COVID-19 Pandemic. METHODS Accrual for the study was ongoing throughout the first three pandemic waves, and attendees of one or more sessions were invited to participate. The evaluation framework included: 1. Descriptive characteristics including participant demographics, Resilience at Work and Single Item Burnout scores; 2. Feedback questionnaires on reasons attended, benefits and satisfaction; 3. Qualitative interviews to further understand participant experience, satisfaction, benefits, enablers, and barriers; and 4. The number of participants at each session was summarized by pandemic wave. RESULTS We collected descriptive statistics from 50 consenting HCW. Approximately half had attended more than one session (48%, n=24). Study participants were predominantly female (80%, n=40), and comprised of physicians (34%, n=17), nurses (18%, n=9), and other HCW (48%, n=24), that were largely from Ontario (82%, n=41). 52% of attendees endorsed feeling burned out (n=26). The highest attendance was in May 2020 and January 2021, corresponding to the first and second pandemic waves. The most cited reasons for attending were to relax (79%, n=38), to manage stress or anxiety (75%, n=36), the wish for loving kindness/self-compassion (64%, n=30), to learn mindfulness (64%, n=30) and help with emotional reactivity (53%, n=25). The qualitative interviews (n=15) identified positive personal and professional impacts. Personal impacts revealed that participation helped the HCW to relax, manage stress, care for themselves, sleep better, reduce isolation, and feel recognized. Professional impacts included having a toolbox of mindfulness techniques, an ability to use mindfulness moments and be calmer at work. Some noted that they shared techniques with colleagues. Reported barriers included participants’ needing time to prioritize themselves, fatigue, forgetting to apply skills on-the-job, internet stability and finding a private place to participate. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the Pause-4-Providers participants found the online groups were accessible, and appreciated the drop-in web-based format, content, and faculty, with high levels of satisfaction. Both the format (drop-in, live, web-based, anonymous, brief, shared activity with other HCW) and content (themes, variety of practices including micro-practices, and workplace applications) enabled benefits. The preliminary results and evaluation of this study of a novel format to deliver accessible HCW support were limited by the low number of consenting participants and design. Further research with repeated measures and longitudinal follow-up is merited.