The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Mental Health and Emotional Regulation of Emergency Medical Services Staff: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Since Emergency Medical Services (EMS) staff face challenging and high-stress conditions, they experience various physical and emotional stresses, which can lead to emotional distress and threaten their mental health.Aim: The present study was conducted with aim to examine the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction training on emotional regulation and mental health of EMS staff.Method: This randomized clinical trial study was conducted in ۲۰۲۲ on ۶۰ EMS staff working at the Medical Emergency and Accident Management Center of Kashan University of Medical Sciences. The intervention group received ۸ sessions of mindfulness training, while the control group received pamphlets on strategies for promoting mental health. The Difficulty in Emotion Regulation and Mental Health questionnaires were completed by the participants at the beginning, fourth, and eighth weeks after the study. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (version ۱۶). p<۰.۰۵ was considered statistically significant.Results: Immediately after the intervention and follow-up period, a significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of mean scores of mental health and difficulty in emotion regulation (p<۰.۰۰۱). Repeated measures ANOVA test showed that the effect of time on the mean scores of mental health and difficulty in emotion regulation was significant in the intervention group (p<۰.۰۵).Implications for Practice: Considering the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction training on improving mental health and emotion regulation, it can be used as an effective, non-invasive, and cost-effective method to promote mental health and emotion regulation of EMS staff.

کلیدواژه ها:

Emergency Medical Services ، Emotion regulation ، Mental health ، Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction