Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38848338›Full record

Trial reportPloS one2024

Impact of heartfulness meditation practice compared to the gratitude practices on wellbeing and work engagement among healthcare professionals: Randomized trial.

Kunal Desai, Patricia O'Malley, Emily Van Culin

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Mindfulness-Based Programmes for Work Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Trials.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. The Impact of Morning Meditation and Sleep Quality on Affective and Health Outcomes in Healthcare Workers.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025
    Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Kunal DesaiDepartment of Internal Medicine, Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0002-4959-8061
Patricia O'MalleyNurse Scientist- Premier Health Nursing Research, Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, Ohio, United States of America.
Emily Van CulinPremier Health Learning Institute, Dayton, Ohio, United States of America.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo investigate whether Heartfulness meditation practice, compared to Gratitude practice, leads to measurable changes in mental wellbeing among healthcare providers across the US.

methodParticipants were randomly assigned to one of the following 6-week interventions: the trainer-guided virtual Heartfulness meditation program or the podcast-based self-guided gratitude practice group. The Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 (ProQOL-5) was used to determine Compassion Satisfaction (CS) and risk for Burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) was used to assess vigor, dedication, and absorption at work. Outcomes were collected at baseline and the end of the study period. Qualitative questions regarding the experience of learning and practicing were also offered at the end of the six weeks.

resultsThe majority of participants were nurses (50%), followed by allied healthcare professionals (37%) and physicians (13%) (N = 83). There was a general trend towards increases in CS in the Heartfulness group compared to the gratitude group. However, this was not statistically significant. Strong evidence suggests there was a significant improvement in BO for the Heartfulness group between Week 0 and Week 6 (p = 0.002), as well as STS (p = 0.0004) and vigor (p = 0.0392). Qualitative data analysis revealed that the subjects in the Heartfulness arm reported improved sleep and decreased reactivity to stress. Subjects in the gratitude arm reported improved mood and favorable results using gratitude practices at home with family members.

conclusionIn our study, Heartfulness meditation practice was associated with a significant improvement in burnout and vigor at work, with a trend towards compassion satisfaction after six weeks compared with gratitude practices. Qualitative analysis indicates the benefits of both Heartfulness and Gratitude practices. Further randomized trials with a larger sample size are needed to explore these science-based practices for the wellbeing of healthcare workers.

Indexed as

Burnout, ProfessionalHealth PersonnelMeditationAdultEmpathyFemaleHumansJob SatisfactionMaleMiddle AgedQuality of LifeWork Engagement

Identifiers

PMID38848338
PMCPMC11161083

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.