The Effects of Teaching Mindfulness on Stress in Physical Therapy Students – A Randomized Controlled Trial

Developing a personalized self-care curriculum for graduate students in the health sciences

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Pitt Personal Wellness Program, three 1-hour workshops that were integrated into the first-semester curriculum of five health sciences graduate programs. The workshops were designed as a personalized education approach to promote self-care and well-being. Of the 156 graduate students who participated in the Pitt Personal Wellness Program, 99 (65%) completed online questionnaires regarding stress and coping at three time points across a 14 week period: before the program, and after the second and third workshops. Graduate students reported significant decreases in perceived stress and number of stressful situations across the three time points. Students who reported a previous history of mental health counseling demonstrated steeper declines in perceived stress across Times 1 and 2, and reported significantly higher use of coping strategies across the three time points. Racially minoritized students and those reporting more financial struggles also reported significant declines in stress and number of stressors across Times 1 and 2. The Pitt Personal Wellness Program was acceptable to graduate students and a promising program for further dissemination and study.

Physical therapist's beliefs, practice patterns and barriers to the incorporation of mindfulness meditation into management of individuals with chronic dizziness

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to assess physical therapist's beliefs, practice patterns, and barriers of incorporation of mindfulness meditation into the management of individuals with chronic dizziness.

METHODS

An electronic survey was sent to physical therapists with experience treating individuals with dizziness and vestibular disorders. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were conducted.

RESULTS

The majority of respondents agree that anxiety limits functional and participation outcomes with individuals with chronic dizziness and adoption of a mindfulness meditation practice could be helpful to address this. However, a much smaller percentage of respondents reported currently using these techniques a majority of time during their clinical practice.

CONCLUSION

Barriers exist that prevent the widespread implementation of meditation and mindfulness in physical therapy practice. Potential limiting factors highlight that further research is needed to explore these barriers and evaluate the outcomes of patients with chronic dizziness when meditation is applied in practice.