scholarly journals The importance of formal versus informal mindfulness practice for enhancing psychological wellbeing and study engagement in a medical student cohort with a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle program

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258999
Author(s):  
Naomi Kakoschke ◽  
Craig Hassed ◽  
Richard Chambers ◽  
Kevin Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Mindfulness Practice ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
First Year ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Change Scores ◽  
Stress Study ◽  
Study Engagement

Purpose Medical students commonly experience elevated psychological stress and poor mental health. To improve psychological wellbeing, a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle course was delivered to a first-year undergraduate medical student cohort as part of the core curriculum. This study investigated the effects of the program on mental health, perceived stress, study engagement, dispositional mindfulness, and whether any improvements were related to amount of formal and/or informal mindfulness practice. Methods Participants were first year undergraduate medical students (N = 310, 60% female, M = 18.60 years) with N = 205 individuals completing pre and post course questionnaires in a 5-week mindfulness-based lifestyle intervention. At pre- and post-intervention, participants completed the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, and the Mindfulness Adherence Questionnaire. Results Mental health, perceived stress, study engagement, and mindfulness all improved from pre- to post-intervention (all p values < .001). Improvements on these outcome measures were inter-related such that PSS change scores were negatively correlated with all other change scores, FMI change scores were positively correlated with MHC-SF and UWES-S change scores, the latter of which was positively correlated with MHC-SF change scores (all p values < .01). Finally, observed improvements in all of these outcomes were positively related to informal practice quality while improved FMI scores were related to formal practice (all p values < .05). Conclusions A 5-week mindfulness-based program correlates with improving psychological wellbeing and study engagement in medical students. These improvements particularly occur when students engage in informal mindfulness practice compared to formal practice.

scholarly journals The Impact of Short-term Integrated Yoga practice on Psychological wellbeing in special educators of individual with special needs

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (04) ◽  
pp. 68-72
Author(s):  
Vijayakumar PS ◽  
Sahana AU ◽  
Anusha Rajanna
Keyword(s):  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Special Educators ◽  
Work Conditions ◽  
Psychological Wellbeing ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
Yoga Practice ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Signed Rank Test ◽  
The Impact

Background: Special educators face unprecedented work conditions and expectations that affect their psychological wellbeing and professional outcome as well. This study examines the growing evidence that even a short-term Integrated yoga practice enhance psychological wellbeing among special educators by reducing their stress, anxiety and depression levels. Materials and Methods: Special educators were recruited based on inclusion and exclusion criteria (n=20) age ranging between 25-50 years (Mean35±6.3) for a single group interventional pre-post study design: Integrated yoga module (included postures, breathing practices, relaxation and mediation) was given for a period of 8 weeks. The subjects were assessed on day 1 pre and post intervention on day 60 on perceived stress scale (PSS), Beck’s depression inventory (BDI-II) and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Results: After 8 weeks of Integrated yoga practice there was asignificant reduction in anxiety scores (P less than 0.000), depression scores (P less than 0.000) and perceived stress levels (P less than 0.000) respectively compared to baseline by wilcoxon signed rank test. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that even a short-term integrated yoga intervention that can enhance psychological wellbeing of the special educators.

Supporting mental health during COVID-19 using a digital behaviour change intervention: an open-label, single-arm, pre-post intervention research study (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Summers ◽  
Philip Wu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Digital Health ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Behaviour Change Intervention ◽  
Open Label ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Health Technologies

BACKGROUND COVID-19 is taking its toll on people's mental health, particularly as people are advised to adhere to social distancing, self-isolation measures and government imposed national lockdowns. Digital health technologies have an important role to play in keeping people connected and supporting mental health and wellbeing. Particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as even before this unprecedented time, mental health and social services were already stretched. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to evaluate the 12-week outcomes of the digitally delivered Gro Health platform, a digital behaviour change intervention for self-management of mental wellbeing, sleep, activity, and nutrition. METHODS The study used a quasi-experimental research design consisting of an open-label, single-arm, pre-post intervention engagement using a convenience sample. From adults who had joined the intervention and had a complete baseline dataset (GAD-7 Anxiety Test Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, PHQ-9 Patient Health Questionnaire), we followed all users for 12 weeks (N=273), including 33 (12.1%) who reported a positive COVID-19 diagnosis during the study period. Users engagement with the Gro Health platform was tracked by active minutes. RESULTS Of the 347 study participants, 273 (78.67%) completed both baseline and follow up surveys. Change in scores for anxiety, perceived stress and depression was predicted by app engagement with the strongest effect being seen in change perceived stress scores F(1,271)=251.397, p<0.001, with an R2 of .479. CONCLUSIONS A digital behaviour change platform that provides remote mental wellbeing support can be effective in managing depression, anxiety, and perceived stress during times of crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic. CLINICALTRIAL Approved by Royal Holloway, University of London Ethics Board.

Stress in first-year Egyptian and Saudi female medical students: a cross cultural comparison

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1583-1583
Author(s):  
M. Amr ◽  
A.-H. El-Gilany ◽  
M. El-Wasify
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
First Year ◽  
Saudi Students ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
High Level

IntroductionCollege students, especially freshmen, are particularly prone to stress due to the transitional nature of college life. However most of studies in this context were conducted in Western Europe and North America with only few recent studies conducted in the Arab world. This study sought to determine whether there was a difference in perceived stress levels of female medical students at Mansoura University, Egypt, and King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia.MethodsThe sample consisted of first year female medical students. The self-reported questionnaire covered four categories, including 13 items, of sources of stress (stressors).Perceived stress scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used to measure stress, anxiety and depression.ResultsThere is no significant difference between the two groups regarding number of stressors. However, Saudi students were more likely to cite emotional problems, excessive workload and fear of future. The most common items in Egyptian students were financial and environmental problems. Prevalence of stress and clinical anxiety was higher in the Saudi sample. Logistic regression analyses of independent predictors of high level of stress among both groups combined were Saudi nationality, larger family size, clinical depression and clinical anxiety.ConclusionsPerceived stress and anxiety are frequent among Saudi students. This information could be useful in designing preventive mental health programs that should be an integral part of the routine clinical facilities caring for medical students to help them to cope with the increasing demands of medical education.

The Effects of Exercise Regimens on Perceived Stress in First‐Year Medical Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
Azmeer Khamisani ◽  
Shouli Tung ◽  
Erica N. Chirico
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
First Year ◽  
First Year Medical Students

scholarly journals Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies among First Year Undergraduate Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study, Thrissur District, Kerala

2019 ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Maria Mathew ◽  
Navya C J ◽  
Vidhu M Joshy
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Undergraduate Medical Students ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Brief Cope

Coping strategies used by an individual for stress determine its effect on health and the body’s functioning. Academic challenges make the first year medical students disparately susceptible to it. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the first year undergraduate medical students of a private medical college in Thrissur, Kerala to find the prevalence of stress and the coping strategies used with the help of pretested and validated questionnaire containing the Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10) and Brief COPE Inventory. 73% of the students had moderate stress and, 20% of the students had high-stress scores. Self-distraction and religion {(6.66 ±1.52), (6.55 ±1.58)}were the most common coping strategies used by the boys and girls respectively. The prevalence of stress was high among the first year undergraduate medical students and those with high-stress scores were found to use maladaptive coping strategies.

scholarly journals Tracking Stress, Mental Health, and Resilience Factors in Medical Students Before, During, and After a Stress-Inducing Exam Period: Protocol and Proof-of-Principle Analyses for the RESIST Cohort Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fritz ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Rogier A Kievit ◽  
Anne-Laura van Harmelen ◽  
Paul O Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Temporary Increase ◽  
Exam Stress ◽  
Resilience Factors

BACKGROUND Knowledge of mental distress and resilience factors over the time span from before to after a stressor is important to be able to leverage the most promising resilience factors and promote mental health at the right time. To shed light on this topic, we designed the RESIST (Resilience Study) study, in which we assessed medical students before, during, and after their yearly exam period. Exam time is generally a period of notable stress among medical students, and it has been suggested that exam time triggers mental distress. OBJECTIVE In this paper, we aim to describe the study protocol and to examine whether the exam period indeed induces higher perceived stress and mental distress. We also aim to explore whether perceived stress and mental distress coevolve in response to exams. METHODS RESIST is a cohort study in which exam stress functions as a within-subject natural stress manipulation. In this paper, we outline the sample (N=451), procedure, assessed measures (including demographics, perceived stress, mental distress, 13 resilience factors, and adversity), and ethical considerations. Moreover, we conducted a series of latent growth models and bivariate latent change score models to analyze perceived stress and mental distress changes over the 3 time points. RESULTS We found that perceived stress and mental distress increased from the time before the exams to the exam period and decreased after the exams to a lower level than before the exams. Our findings further suggest that higher mental distress before exams increased the risk of developing more perceived stress during exams. Higher perceived stress during exams, in turn, increased the risk of experiencing a less successful (or quick) recovery of mental distress after exams. CONCLUSIONS As expected, the exam period caused a temporary increase in perceived stress and mental distress. Therefore, the RESIST study lends itself well to exploring resilience factors in response to naturally occurring exam stress. Such knowledge will eventually help researchers to find out which resilience factors lend themselves best as prevention targets and which lend themselves best as treatment targets for the mitigation of mental health problems that are triggered or accelerated by natural exam stress. The findings from the RESIST study may therefore inform student support services, mental health services, and resilience theory.

scholarly journals Tracking Stress, Mental Health and Resilience Factors in Medical Students, Before, During and After a Stress-Inducing Exam Period: Protocol and Proof of Principle Analyses for the RESIST Cohort-Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Fritz ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Rogier Kievit ◽  
Anne-Laura Van Harmelen ◽  
Paul Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Change Score ◽  
Temporary Increase ◽  
Stress Exposure ◽  
Resilience Factors

Background: Resilience factors, such as self-esteem or social support, are known to reduce mental distress in the face of stress or adversity exposure. So far, knowledge on the promotive value of resilience factors over the time span from before to during and after the stress or adversity exposure is concerningly scarce. Such knowledge seems however important to eventually be able to leverage the most promising resilience factors at the right time. To shed light on this topic we designed the RESIST study, in which we assessed medical students (N=457) before, during and after their yearly exam period. Exam time is a period of notable stress in medical students and has been suggested to trigger mental health problems.Objectives: Here we describe the study protocol and examine whether the exam period did indeed induced higher (di)stress.Methods: RESIST is a cohort-study in which exam stress functions as within-subject natural stress manipulation. In this manuscript we outline the sample, procedure, assessed measures (including demographics, perceived stress, mental distress, 13 resilience factors and adversity) and ethical considerations. Moreover, we conducted a series of latent growth and bivariate latent change score models to analyse perceived stress and mental distress changes over the three time points.Results: We found that perceived stress and mental distress increased during exams compared to before exams, but decreased below pre-exam levels afterwards. Our findings further suggest that higher perceived stress before the exams may result in less recovery in mental distress after exams. Moreover, higher mental distress before the exams increased the chance of higher perceived stress during exams, which in turn increased the risk for a less successful (or quick) recovery of mental distress after exams.Conclusion: As expected, the exam period caused a temporary increase in (di)stress. Therefore, the RESIST study lends itself well to explore whether the promotive value of resilience factors changes from before to during and/or after stress exposure. Such knowledge will eventually help to find out which resilience factors lend themselves best as prevention and which as intervention targets for the mitigation of mental health problems that are triggered or accelerated by the stress exposure. Findings from the RESIST study may therefore inform student support services, mental health services and resilience theory.

scholarly journals Prevalence and Predictors of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms Among International Medical Students in China During COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu-Lu Yuan ◽  
Lu Lu ◽  
Xue-Hang Wang ◽  
Xiao-Xi Guo ◽  
Hong Ren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Coping Style ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
International Medical ◽  
Place Of Residence ◽  
Negative Coping

Background: The rapid spread of Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) infection has been the most important public health crisis across the globe since the end of 2019. Anxiety and depression are the most common mental health problems among people during the pandemic, and many studies have reported anxiety and depressive symptoms in college students. However, information on the mental health status of international medical students during this critical period of time has been scarce, which hinders the efforts in making proper policy or strategies to help these students. The present study aims to explore the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in international medical students in China and to find out the factors that have potential predictive value for anxiety and depressive symptoms.Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out for international medical students during November 2020 at China Medical University in Shenyang, China. Five hundred and nineteen international students were interviewed with questionnaires containing demographic variables, Stressors in school, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) and Resilience Scale-14 (RS-14). Univariate logistic regression and stepwise multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted where appropriate to explore the predictive factors of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms.Results: The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms in the sample population was 28.5% (148/519) and 31.6% (164/519), respectively. Stressors in school (β = 0.176, OR = 1.192, CI: 1.102–1.289), negative coping style (β = 0.639, OR = 1.894, CI: 1.287–2.788) and perceived stress (β = 0.230, OR = 1.258, CI: 1.184–1.337) were found to be the predictors of anxiety symptoms among the international medical students; while gender (β = −0.594, OR = 0.552, CI: 0.315–0.968), stay up late (β = 0.828, OR = 2.288, CI: 1.182–4.431), current place of residence (β = 1.082, OR = 2.951, CI: 1.256–6.931), stressors in the school (β = 0.303, OR = 1.354, CI: 1.266–1.496), negative coping style (β = 0.866, OR = 2.377, CI: 1.516–3.725), perceived stress (β = 0.233, OR = 1.262, CI: 1.180–1.351) were found to be predictors of depressive symptoms.Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and depressive symptoms was moderate among international medical students in China. The communal predictors of anxiety and depressive symptoms were stressors in school, negative coping style and perceived stress; while demographic factors such as gender (male), stay up late at night and current place of residence were found associated with depressive symptoms. These results suggest that proper stress management and specific interventions are needed to help students maintain their mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

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