Physiological outcomes from mind-body resiliency programs in healthcare workers: A scoping review

TL;DR

This review explores how mind-body programs affect the physical health of healthcare workers, finding short-term benefits and suggesting areas for future research.

Contribution

The study systematically evaluates physiological outcomes of mind-body programs in healthcare workers, highlighting program duration and methodological gaps.

Findings

Shorter mind-body programs (≤6 weeks) are more effective for healthcare workers with high stress.

Longer programs (8–12 weeks) improve resting heart rate and blood pressure inconsistently.

Physiological improvements correlate with increased engagement in mind-body activities.

Abstract

Mind-body resiliency programs have improved perceived resiliency and stress in healthcare workers but less is known about physiological impacts. This scoping review aims to evaluate current methodologies and physiological outcomes of different mind-body programs in healthcare settings. The initial literature search revealed 19457 studies across seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Scopus, PsychInfo, and CINAHL) from inception through 8/6/2024. Forty-one studies met the inclusion criteria of peer-reviewed original research studying the effects of mind-body programs (i.e., Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, yoga, meditation, breathwork, biofeedback) on physiological measures (i.e., blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate, heart rate variability, sleep) in healthcare workers. Two reviewers independently extracted data from each included study into condensed tables and assessed trends in study design, methodological processes, and physiological outcomes. Conflicts exist in balancing the high cost and validity of clinical apparatuses with more cost effective and user-friendly means of assessing physiological measures within real-world healthcare settings. Most within session investigations found positive impacts of mind-body programs on immediate physiological outcomes, which is expected considering the common theme to induce parasympathetic states. Programs of ≤6 weeks appeared more effective at inducing physiological improvements in healthcare workers currently experiencing high stress or impaired resting physiology. Longer mind-body programs (8–12 weeks) generally improved resting heart rate and blood pressure while having inconsistent effects on heart rate variability. Some investigations identified engagement in more mind-body activities resulted in greater physiological improvements. Discrepancies in findings may pertain to variations in population descriptions, mind-body intervention requirements, and methodology of physiological recordings. Future work should recruit multiple groups with varying stress levels and controls, implement interventions geared towards the time requirements of healthcare workers, and utilize validated physiological recordings at adequate time points throughout and beyond the intervention to determine the trajectory of long-term physiological adaptations.

Figures