Impact of a Virtual Reality-based Mindfulness Program on Clinician Wellness
Impact of a Virtual Reality-based Mindfulness Program on Clinician Wellness
Burnout shares symptoms with anxiety and depression. While there is no single intervention for burnout, there are validated interventions (which are amenable to virtual reality (VR)) for anxiety and depression. UMassMemorial data from the Professional Well-Being Academic Consortium show that MD burnout and distress has increased since 2020. The investigators believe providing clinicians with a unique tool (VR) will be a feasible and efficacious way to tackle distress. It is known that only 1% of our MDs have done mindfulness training but nearly 50% are interested in doing so. Therefore, a self-administrable, interactive mindfulness program delivered over VR has great potential to reach clinicians who want to practice a more active form of mindfulness at a time convenient to them. The results of the study will provide preliminary evidence to determine if a take-home VR mindfulness program decreases clinician stress.
Cohorts 1 will be the intervention group Cohorts 2 will be the controls. Study endpoints include results from the following questionnaires:
The intervention is a 12-week mindfulness-based VR intervention.
Cohort 1 will complete the questionnaires 1-4 at baseline (just before the intervention). They will be sent twice weekly reminders to use the VR for the duration of the 12-week intervention. After 12 weeks Cohort 1 will retake questionnaires 1-4 and take questionnaire 5, while Cohort 2 will then take questionnaires 1-4 and be provided the VR headsets. After another 12 weeks, Cohort 1 will take questionnaires 1-4 and be done with the study, while Cohort 2 will take questionnaires 1-5. After 12 more weeks, Cohort 2 will take questionnaires 1-4 and be done with the study.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria:
steven.bird@umassmemorial.org508-421-1422