Abstract
Nurses care for all members of the community and are expected to be representatives of good health. They often place the needs of their patients before their own while they are faced with a variety of stressful situations and working environments (Linton & Koonmen, 2020). Nurses experience high levels of stress which can have negative effects on an individual. Over time, untreated stress for nurses may lead to burnout or compassion fatigue which has been associated with poor patient outcomes, decreased patient satisfaction, and high attrition rates (Bonamer & Aquino-Russel, 2019). This can result in increased costs related to callouts, overtime, and additional training of newly hired nurses. Jon Kabat-Zinn developed a mindfulness-based stress reduction program that involves breathing exercises and directing attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Holistic interventions such as increasing mindfulness through meditation practices have become popular for helping to increase resilience for nurses (Chesak et al., 2019). Time constraints for nurses and organizations, due to prolonged training, are an obstacle to introducing mindfulness practices. The delivery of meditation through mobile phone applications has been gaining strength due to its ability to reach many individuals without costly in-person training. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to determine if the implementation of meditation practices through a mobile device impacted stress for nurses.
This project was carried out over a six-week period with the participation of medical-surgical staff nurses at a community hospital using the UCLA Mindful meditation application. Individual stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) pre- and post-survey. A paired t-test was utilized to compare the individual PSS-10 scores. The data analyzed revealed a moderate effect on the pre- and post PSS-10 scores. Most of the participants (n = 10, 83.3%) reported using the UCLA Mindful application and nine plan to continue its use (n = 9, 75%). The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics Provision 5 states, “a nurse owes the same duties to self as to others including the responsibility to promote health and safety,” (ANA, 2015). The use of this free meditation application provides a convenient option for recognizing stress and improving self-care.
Outcomes:
1. Create awareness of the presence of stress for nurses
2. Provide a beneficial, holistic method of improving wellness for individuals and organizations.
Notes
References:
1. American Nurses Association (2015). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements. American Nurses Publishing.
2. Bonamer, J. R., & Aquino-Russell, C. (2019). Self-care strategies for professional development: Transcendental meditation reduces compassion fatigue and improves resilience for nurses. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 35(2), 93–97.
3. Chesak, S. S., Cutshall, S. M., Bowe, C. L., Montanari, K. M., & Bhagra, A. (2019). Stress management interventions for nurses: Critical literature review. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 37(3), 288–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010119842693
4. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,10(2), 144-156. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg016
5. Linton, M., & Koonmen, J. (2020). Self-care as an ethical obligation for nurses. Nursing Ethics, 27(8), 1694-1702. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020940371
Sigma Membership
Alpha Beta Xi
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Stress and Coping, Clinical Practice, Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Holistic Health, Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, Holistic Interventions, Resilience
Recommended Citation
Corry, Lisa, "A Mobile Meditation Application to Impact Nursing and Nursing Student Stress" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 72.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/posters_2025/72
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-12-06
A Mobile Meditation Application to Impact Nursing and Nursing Student Stress
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Nurses care for all members of the community and are expected to be representatives of good health. They often place the needs of their patients before their own while they are faced with a variety of stressful situations and working environments (Linton & Koonmen, 2020). Nurses experience high levels of stress which can have negative effects on an individual. Over time, untreated stress for nurses may lead to burnout or compassion fatigue which has been associated with poor patient outcomes, decreased patient satisfaction, and high attrition rates (Bonamer & Aquino-Russel, 2019). This can result in increased costs related to callouts, overtime, and additional training of newly hired nurses. Jon Kabat-Zinn developed a mindfulness-based stress reduction program that involves breathing exercises and directing attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Holistic interventions such as increasing mindfulness through meditation practices have become popular for helping to increase resilience for nurses (Chesak et al., 2019). Time constraints for nurses and organizations, due to prolonged training, are an obstacle to introducing mindfulness practices. The delivery of meditation through mobile phone applications has been gaining strength due to its ability to reach many individuals without costly in-person training. The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project was to determine if the implementation of meditation practices through a mobile device impacted stress for nurses.
This project was carried out over a six-week period with the participation of medical-surgical staff nurses at a community hospital using the UCLA Mindful meditation application. Individual stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) pre- and post-survey. A paired t-test was utilized to compare the individual PSS-10 scores. The data analyzed revealed a moderate effect on the pre- and post PSS-10 scores. Most of the participants (n = 10, 83.3%) reported using the UCLA Mindful application and nine plan to continue its use (n = 9, 75%). The American Nurses Association Code of Ethics Provision 5 states, “a nurse owes the same duties to self as to others including the responsibility to promote health and safety,” (ANA, 2015). The use of this free meditation application provides a convenient option for recognizing stress and improving self-care.
Outcomes:
1. Create awareness of the presence of stress for nurses
2. Provide a beneficial, holistic method of improving wellness for individuals and organizations.