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Cited by 89Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsOccupational Health and BurnoutStress and Burnout Research

Effects of a mindfulness-based interventions on stress, burnout in nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Wang, Qi, Wang, Fang, Zhang, Shurong, Liu, Chaofan, Feng, Yue, Chen, Junzhu·2023·Frontiers in Psychiatry
DOI 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1218340PMC PMC10434780
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Abstract

Background: Stress in the healthcare environment causes negative effects in nurses such as burnout, anxiety, and depression. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in increased pressure on medical staff globally, highlighting the potential benefits of mindfulness-based interventions in reducing nurses’ stress levels. Despite numerous studies exploring the effect of mindfulness-based training on nurses, the results remain inconclusive. Objective: To systematically evaluate the impact of mindfulness training on nurse’s performance and increase the certainty of existing evidence. Methods: This study searched various databases, including EBSCO, Embase, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, Cochrane Online Library, Wanfang, SinoMed, CNKI, and VIP, for randomized controlled trials on the impact of mindfulness-based interventions for nurses up until 02 December 2022. Two investigators independently screened and extracted data from the articles, while also assessing the risk of bias. The data was analyzed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results: This review identified 15 studies out of the 2,171 records retrieved, consisting of a total of 1,165 participants who were randomized. Post-intervention analysis provided very-low certainty evidence of moderate effectiveness of mindfulness-based training in reducing stress [standardized mean difference (SMD) = −0.81; 95% confidence interval (CI) = −1.11 to −0.52], with no significant effect on anxiety (SMD = −0.30; 95% CI = −0.72 to 0.13) or depression (SMD = −0.24; 95% CI = −0.55 to 0.07). However, the training was effective in reducing burnout, as demonstrated by the lower scores for emotional exhaustion (SMD = −4.27; 95% CI = −5.94 to −2.59) and depersonalization (SMD = −2.89; 95% CI = −4.24 to −1.54) and higher scores for personal accomplishment (SMD = 2.81; 95% CI = 0.12 to 5.50). There was a sustained improvement in stress levels in the short-term (≤3 months), with delayed benefits for burnout. However, only two studies were available for later follow-ups, and there was no significant evidence of long-term effects. Conclusion: Mindfulness-based training may be a viable intervention for improving the psychological wellbeing of nurses, including reducing stress, burnout. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/ , identifier CRD42023387081.

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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 [25]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) describes earlier systematic reviews focused on nurses or other healthcare professionals, supporting the claim about subsets of healthcare professionals. It also describes reviews of mindfulness-based interventions, but does not characterize those reviews as focusing on specific cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs). (LLM, conf=0.84)

    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 [25]

    The Introduction (page unavailable) says prior reviews of mindfulness-based interventions for nurses had limited samples and did not adequately distinguish short- from long-term effects, motivating a more comprehensive review. The Discussion (page unavailable) also acknowledges existing reviews involving other healthcare professionals. These passages support a narrower gap in the evidence, but not a general paucity of comprehensive analyses of all third-wave CBTs for healthcare professionals experiencing burnout. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Wang, Q., Wang, F., Zhang, S., Liu, C., Feng, Y., & Chen, J.
Affiliations
Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CN)
Corresponding author
Wang, Fang
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychiatry
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2023-08-03
Volume
14
Pages
1218340-1218340
ISSN
1664-0640 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1218340
PMC
PMC10434780
OpenAlex
W4385901262
Cited by
89
References
25
Citations by year
2026: 37 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 11
FWCI
4.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Burnout
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
Keywords
mindfulness-based interventions, nurse burnout, occupational stress, nurses, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment, anxiety, depression, psychological well-being, COVID-19 pandemic, long-term follow-up, nurse performance, nurse retention, nurse turnover, nurse recruitment, nursing workload, nurse-patient relationship

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