Date Presented 03/27/20
With the rigor of OT programs increasing to meet the demands of healthcare, students are reporting stress and anxiety at an increasing rate. Infusing mindful-based interventions within didactic training and fieldwork education can have a positive effect on the OT student and ultimately carry over to therapeutic client interactions. Educators within academia and clinical settings can utilize evidence-based interventions on grit, gratitude practice, and growth mindset.
Primary Author and Speaker: Retta Martin
Additional Authors and Speakers: Jemma Grogan
Contributing Authors: Amy Mattila, Elizabeth DeIuliis
PURPOSE: Current college-age students suffer from anxiety at a much higher rate than generations that precede them (APA, 2018). Students in allied health (AH) professions, such as occupational therapy (OT), were identified to have mild to extremely severe mental health symptoms especially for anxiety and stress (Almhdawi et al., 2018). Anxiety increases as the students prepare to enter their clinical training (Almhdawi et al., 2018). The literature related to mindfulness, growth mindset, and gratitude suggest there are a multitude of ways for OT students to healthily cope with stress and anxiety (Bamber & Schneider, 2016; Willgens & Hummel, 2016). The research question guiding this study was: What is the effect of teaching mindful and gratitude based practice to occupational therapy students on their self-report of grit, gratitude, and a growth mindset, in regards to fieldwork education?
DESIGN: This study utilized a mixed methods approach. Participants were purposively sampled from a cohort of entry-level masters of OT students during the third semester of their professional education. The 10-week mindful-based intervention protocol was embedded in a graduate-level OT course focused on clinical reasoning and fieldwork education.
Methods: Quantitative data were collected through pretest-posttest measures of three tools, related to the outcomes of the interventions. The Grit Scale was utilized to identify traits that might predict success. The Gratitude Questionnaire-Six-Item Form (GQ-6) is a six-item self-report questionnaire designed to assess individual differences in the proneness to experience gratitude in daily life. Finally, the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) was used to measure the types of learning strategies, self-regulation, and academic motivation. These areas of motivation and learning are often associated with the Growth Mindset. To determine the level of change in students following intervention, t tests comparing pretest and posttest scores were computed. Qualitative data were gathered using journals and an open-ended satisfaction survey was completed at the end, specific to the educational modules. The researchers methodically reviewed these reflections and surveys to develop a deeper understanding of themes that emerged.
RESULTS: Twenty-four participants completed the study for final analysis. Participants were representative of the national OT student body in gender, age, and full-time student status. An exploratory analysis of the data showed an increase in grit and gratitude and a decrease in growth mindset following intervention. Grit and gratitude demonstrated significant increase following intervention (p<.03). While change in growth mindset was not significant, student themes of increased motivation and self-regulation emerged from the qualitative data.
CONCLUSION: The results of this study contribute to the existing body of literature surrounding mindfulness, growth mindset, and gratitude-based interventions. The impact of the mindful-based interventions on an OT student’s self-perception of gratitude, grit and growth mindset has the following implications for educators within academia or the clinic: Mindfulness can impact the mental well-being of OT students; positively impact students on fieldwork by facilitating greater awareness and less distraction in the clinical setting; and allow OT students to better regulate their own emotions, which in turn could facilitate greater empathy and compassion with client interactions. Due to the diverse practice settings that train and hire OT students, infusing mindfulness and gratitude based trainings into didactic curricula is essential. The outcomes of this study support the value of more rigorous research to explore this topic.
References
American Psychological Association. (2018). Stress in America: Uncertainty about health care. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2017/uncertainty-health-care.pdf
Almhdawi, K. A., Kanaan, S. F., Khander, Y., Al-Hourani, Z., Almomani, F., & Nazzal, M. (2018). Study-related mental health symptoms and their correlates among allied health professions students. Work, 61, 391-401. DOI:10.3233/WOR-182815
Bamber, M. D., & Schneider, J. K. (2016). Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Educational Research Review, 18, 1-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004
Willgens, A. & Hummel, K. (2016). Uncovering a curricular model of self-care in physical therapy. Journal of Physical Therapy Education, 30(4), 55-70. http://dx.doi.org.authenticate.library.duq.edu/10.1097/00001416-201630040-00008
