@article{20.500.12766/442,
year = {2023},
month = {6},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12766/442},
abstract = {Objectives
Physicians and medical students are subject to higher levels of psychological distress than
the general population. These challenges have a negative impact in medical practice, leading to uncompassionate care. This pilot study aims to examine the feasibility of Compassion
Cultivation Training (CCT) to reduce psychological distress and improve the well-being of
medical students. We hypothesize that the CCT program, as compared to a waitlist control
group, will reduce psychological distress (i.e., stress, anxiety, and depression) and burnout
symptoms, while improving compassion, empathy, mindfulness, resilience, psychological
well-being, and emotion-regulation strategies after the intervention. Furthermore, we
hypothesize that these improvements will be maintained at a two-month follow-up.
Methods
Medical students were randomly assigned to an 8-week CCT or a Waitlist control group
(WL). They completed self-report assessments at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and a
2-month follow-up. The outcomes measured were compassion, empathy, mindfulness,
well-being, resilience, emotional regulation, psychological distress, burnout, and COVID-19
concern. Mixed-effects models and Reliable Change Index were computed.
Results
Compared with WL, CCT showed significant improvements in self-compassion, mindfulness, and emotion regulation, as well as a significant decrease in stress, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion component of burnout. Furthermore, some of these effects persisted at
follow-up. No adverse effects of meditation practices were found.
Conclusions
CCT enhanced compassion skills while reducing psychological distress in medical students,
this being critical to preserving the mental health of physicians while promoting compassionate care for patients. The need for institutions to include this type of training is
also discussed.},
publisher = {Editorial Board},
title = {A compassion-based program to reduce psychological distress in medical students: A pilot randomized clinical trial},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0287388},
journal = {PLOS ONE},
keywords = {Emotions},
keywords = {Psychological stress},
keywords = {Mental health and psychiatry},
keywords = {Anxiety},
keywords = {Depression},
keywords = {COVID 19},
keywords = {Physicians},
keywords = {Clinical psychology},
volume = {18},
author = {Rojas, Blanca and Catalán, Elena and Díez, Gustavo and Roca Morales, Pablo},
}