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Cited by 39Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsHealthcare professionals’ stress and burnoutStress and Burnout Research

The impact of psychological interventions with elements of mindfulness on burnout and well-being in healthcare professionals: A systematic review

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Selič-Zupančič, Polona, Klemenc-Ketiš, Zalika, Onuk Tement, Sara·2023·Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
DOI 10.2147/jmdh.s398552PMC PMC10317529
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Abstract

Background: Healthcare professionals are highly likely to experience various causes of work-related stress, which often leads to burnout. This became even more obvious during the Covid-19 pandemic. This systematic review aimed to analyze articles where psychological interventions with elements of mindfulness (PIM) were used to support healthcare professionals to foster well-being and reduce burnout levels. Compared to other recently published reviews, it is unique, due to its focus on a wide group of healthcare professionals, a broader selection of psychological interventions, and the evaluation of any sustained effects. Methods: Systematic searches were carried out in February 2021 with different combinations of Boolean operators within six electronic databases: PubMed, EBSCOhost, MEDLINE, PsycArticles, Cochrane Library, JSTOR and Cobiss. We included articles that had been published in the last ten years (2011 to 2021) and which reported on original research focused on evaluating the influence of PIM on healthcare professionals. MERSQI was used to assess the quality of the included studies. Results: Of 1315 identified studies, 15 were included in this systematic review. Regardless of the specific type, duration and setting (individual vs group) of PIM applied, the results demonstrated a positive impact on well-being and burnout in participating healthcare professionals. The most studied interventions involved MBSR (mindfulness-based stress reduction) and other mindfulness training programmes, in online as well as in-person versions. Conclusion: Given the new reality with the presence of the SARS-Cov-2 virus, it is of the utmost importance to offer feasible, effective interventions for burnout reduction to vulnerable groups of healthcare professionals. By focusing on their needs, several key aspects of burnout and mindfulness could be efficiently improved; this review demonstrates that short, online interventions could be as effective as longer, in-person ones.

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  • Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have frequently focused on specific cognitive behavioral therapies or subsets of healthcare professionals.

    “Previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have frequently focused on specific CBTs or subsets of HPs.”

    From Effects of Third-Wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Healthcare Professionals’ Burnout: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Discussion’s “Comparison to Other Studies” section (page not provided) says other reviews focused mostly on one healthcare profession, supporting the claim about subsets of healthcare professionals. The passages do not establish that previous reviews and meta-analyses frequently focused on specific CBTs. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • There is a paucity of comprehensive analyses of the effectiveness of third-wave cognitive behavioral therapies specifically for healthcare professionals experiencing burnout.

    “Despite the growing body of research on third-wave CBTs, there is a paucity of comprehensive analyses of their effectiveness, specifically for HPs experiencing burnout.”

    From Effects of Third-Wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Healthcare Professionals’ Burnout: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [26]

    The Strengths and Limitations section says that, unlike reviews focused on a single profession, this review covers a heterogeneous group of healthcare professionals. That supports a gap in broad analyses of mindfulness-based interventions, but the paper does not establish a paucity of analyses of third-wave CBTs as a whole. It also notes that included studies generally did not assess participants’ baseline sensitivity to burnout, so their participants cannot all be described as experiencing burnout. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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References 50 · Cited by 39

Research works printed but not linked: 35

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Authors
Selič-Zupančič, P., Klemenc-Ketiš, Z., & Onuk Tement, S.
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2023-06
Volume
Volume 16
Pages
1821-1831
ISSN
1178-2390 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.2147/jmdh.s398552
PMC
PMC10317529
OpenAlex
W4382561320
Cited by
39
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 6
FWCI
1.98
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS (P3-0339)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
Keywords
burnout, well-being, healthcare workers, mindfulness-based interventions, mindfulness-based stress reduction, psychological intervention, occupational stress, COVID-19 pandemic, online intervention, in-person intervention

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