Belongingness in Nursing Through Mindfulness - BEING Mindful: A Pilot Study

NCT06866288 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 25-036
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 32
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The long-term goal of this study is to develop a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) program to reduce stress and burnout while increasing belongingness and connectedness among faculty and staff at the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing (CON). The central hypothesis is that the MBI intervention will improve psychosocial outcomes (sense of belonging) and physiological outcomes (heart rate variability, HRV) among CON faculty and staff. The specific aims are to: Aim 1: Evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of MBIs (meditation or yoga) through participant interviews, recruitment, retention, and adherence rates. Aim 2: Assess the preliminary effects of MBIs on psychosocial (burnout, stress, anxiety, sense of belonging) and physiological (HRV) outcomes. The hypothesis predicts improvements in both psychosocial and physiological measures post-intervention. Researchers will compare meditation to yoga to see if one improves psychosocial and physiological outcomes better that the other. Participants will be asked to:

• participate in meditation or yoga two times per week
• complete surveys
• use an app on their phone to answer short surveys
• wear a smart device

Conditions

Mindfulness; Sense of Belonging

Keywords

Mindfulness based interventions; meditation; yoga; heart rate variability

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Belongingness

  Belonging will be assessed using the 8-item Sense of Belonging Scale (SBS). The SBS measures the sense of belongingness or feelings of acceptance and inclusion in a community experienced by an individual.21 The SBS was developed to be adapted to specific contexts.21 Using the method described by Mellinger and Park (2023), we adapted the scale to be specific to UNM CON faculty and staff. Response categories range from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Responses are summed and the mean is calculated with higher scores corresponding to a stronger sense of belonging.22 The SBS-8 demonstrated high levels of reliability with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .96.21

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Burnout

  Assessment of burnout: The Copenhagen Burnout Inventory is a valid and reliable, 19- item, self-report measure of burnout.24 Originally designed to measure burnout in among human service workers, it includes 3 scales. The personal burnout scale has six items and measures prolonged physical and emotional exhaustion. The work-related burnout scale has seven items that measure prolonged physical and emotional exhaustion secondary to work. The third scale, client-related burnout, has six items that measure burnout related to working with clients (client may be patients, students, service recipients). Each subscale can be scored separately.24 The three subscales have demonstrated good reliability and criterion related validity in a variety of samples.24,25

  Baseline and 6 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Stress

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Anxiety

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• Trait Mindfulness

  Baseline and 6 weeks

• State mindfulness

  6 weeks

• Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

  6 weeks

Study Arms (2)

Mindfulness Meditation

EXPERIMENTAL

Meditation is a practice of mental exercises designed to increase focus and cultivate a desire to relieve suffering in self and other. Many religious traditions have a form of meditation based practice. This study will focus on two forms of meditation both of which are focused on right mindfulness: 1) zazen which is a seated meditation primarily focused on the breath, posture, and sensation without attaching judgment. This is meant to develop awareness, equanimity, and insight, and 2) kinhin which is a walking meditation which is meant to connect mindfulness in one's movement by synchronizing breath and movement. It also focuses on development of awareness, equanimity, and insight. The two activities combined help the individual to nurture a thread of mindfulness. Instructors have developed a protocol to standardize the delivery of the meditation. Participants are requested to attend two meditation sessions per week.

Behavioral: Yoga

Mindfulness Yoga

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Yoga is a holistic, multidimensional practice. There are three fundamental limbs of yoga: 1) breathwork (pranyanma), 2) physical postures with breathing techniques (asanas), and 3) meditation and visualization (Dhyana).) Yoga practice unites the mind, body and spirit leading to psychophysiological changes within the individual including improved self-regulation ability and stress response, mood, well-being, and quality of life. Yoga instructors will offer modifications and props such as blocks to ensure sessions are accessible to individuals of various abilities and minimize the risk of injury. Instructors have developed a detailed manual to standardize the delivery of the yoga intervention. Participants are requested to attend two yoga sessions per week.

Behavioral: Meditation

Interventions

Meditation BEHAVIORAL

Each person will participate in seated meditation, then walking meditation, then return to seated meditation.

Mindfulness Yoga

Yoga BEHAVIORAL

Each person will participate in a yoga sessions.

Mindfulness Meditation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years of age or older
• in general good health
• employed as College of Nursing (CON) faculty or CON staff
• reside in the state of New Mexico and able to attend 6 weeks of in-person research sessions
• willing to complete research assessments
• own a smart phone

You may not qualify if:

• major medical illness making individual unable to participate in the research

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of New Mexico: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of New Mexico College of Nursing

Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87131, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Interventions

Meditation; Yoga

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mind-Body Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Therapeutics; Spiritual Therapies; Relaxation Therapy; Behavior Therapy; Psychotherapy; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Exercise Movement Techniques; Physical Therapy Modalities

Study Officials

• Sharon Ruyak

  UNM HSC

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Study Design This study is a minimal-risk, single-site, quasi-experimental study designed to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) among faculty and staff at the University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing (CON). Participants will be assigned to one of two intervention groups: (1) mindfulness meditation or (2) yoga. The study will assess psychosocial and physiological outcomes pre- and post-intervention. Blinding Blinding is not applicable in this study, as participants will be aware of their assigned intervention. Participant Selection and Eligibility Criteria Recruitment and Screening The study will use convenience sampling to recruit and enroll 60 participants from among the 71 faculty and 71 staff members at UNM CON. Study staff will contact interested individuals, who will undergo an eligibility screening via a one-page questionnaire (\~5 minutes to complete). Screening will assess inclusion and exclusion criteria (Attac

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 4, 2025
• First Posted: March 10, 2025
• Study Start: April 29, 2025
• Primary Completion: October 14, 2025
• Study Completion: October 14, 2025
• Last Updated: November 10, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11

Locations

US (1)