The impact of a tailored mindfulness-based program for resident physicians on distress and the quality of care: A randomised controlled trial

Background Many resident physicians suffer from distress, which endangers their individual health and the quality of care. Objective To examine the impact of a tailored mindfulness-based program (MBP) for resident physicians on distress and the quality of care. Methods A single-centre, two-armed, longitudinal randomised controlled trial. The intervention group took part in an eight-week, tailored MBP that included a course book. The MBP was followed by a four-month maintenance phase. The active control group received the course book for self-study. Assessments were at baseline (t0, 0 months), after the intervention (t1, 2 months), after the maintenance phase (t2, 6 months), and at follow-up (t3, 12 months). The primary outcome was change in burnout at t2. Secondary outcomes included perceived stress, mental distress, perceived job strain, depression, anxiety, hair cortisol secretion, self-reported medical errors, and third-party ratings by patients, supervisors, and colleagues. Results Seventy-six participants were randomised to the intervention- and seventy-one to the control group. The intervention group showed greater improvements in the primary outcome (burnout at t2, d = 0.32, p = .046), in perceived stress (d = 0.31, p = .046) and perceived job strain (d = 0.33, p = .026) at t1, and in supervisor rated empathy (d = 0.71, p = .037) and colleague rated attentiveness (d = 0.85, p = .006) at t2. There was no difference between groups in the other outcomes. Conclusion A tailored MBP for resident physicians improved burnout and might have improved other aspects of distress and the quality of care. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.