Effects of Mindfulness-based Intervention on Stress and Anxiety in Doctor of Physical Therapy Students: A Prospective Cohort Design

Purpose: The demanding nature of physical therapist (PT) education often leads students to experience very high stress levels, which can negatively impact both their academic performance and overall wellbeing. Mindfulness-based intervention programs have been used to decrease stress and anxiety in the general population. However, there is limited evidence of their use with Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on stress and anxiety in DPT students. Methods: Thirty-seven DPT students completed an 8-week mindfulness program, including daily individual mindfulness sessions (10 minutes) and weekly group mindfulness sessions (30 minutes). The Calm application was used as a resource and for tracking compliance with the program. Paired t-tests were used to compare differences in stress, anxiety and vital signs at baseline and 8 weeks. Results: Participants ranged from 22 to 43 years-old with an average age of 24.73 ± 3.81 years (81.1% female, average BMI of 19.90 ± 2.95 kg/m2). The average number of mindfulness sessions completed per week was 3.87 ± 0.46 individual sessions and 4.55 ± 1.57 weekly group sessions. Data analysis revealed a statistically significant reduction in perceived stress (p = 0.001), anxiety (p = 0.001), and resting heart rate (p = 0.015) postintervention. There was no significant change in systolic blood pressure (p = 0.164) or diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.830), and there was a significant increase in respiratory rate (p = 0.022). Conclusion: DPT students who completed between 3-4 individual 10-minute mindfulness sessions per week for 8 weeks were able to demonstrate a significant decrease in stress and anxiety. A brief mindfulness program may be an effective stress-management technique to help improve student well-being and, in turn, may improve the educational experience.