Mindfulness-based intervention for reducing perceived stress, depression and anxiety among workers in a public university: randomized clinical trial

INTRODUCTION: Mindfulness-based practices have showing promising results for mental health and positive changes at workplace context. OBJECTIVE: Determinate that Mindfulness-based practice intervention applied for eight weeks is able to decrease the levels of perceived stress, depression, anxiety and burnout, and increase the level of mindfulness in a sample of technicaladministrative workers from a public university. METHOD: The study had two fases. The first is a cross-sectional study, and the second is a randomized clinical trial. It was carried out in teaching and administrative sectors at the University of São Paulo campus of Ribeirão Preto, with technical-administrative workers. A total of 929 subjects participated in first stage. Multiple logistic linear regression performed in an adjusted and not adjusted model for perceived stress scores, with the confidence interval at 95%. In the second fase, 60 subjects were randomized to a group that received a Mindfulness-based practices intervention for eight weeks (Mindfulness Program) (Experimental Group [EG]: 30 participants) and to a group that received no intervention (Control Group [CG]: 30 participants). The main outcome evaluated was perceived stress, through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS14). The secondary outcomes were depression by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), anxiety by Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), burnout by Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS), and Mindfulness by Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-BR). Outcomes were assessed before (T0) and after the intervention (T1). Descriptive analysis, Pearson's Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were performed to compare distributions of the variables between EG and CG groups. Mann-Whitney test performed to evaluate intergroup changes between T0 and T1. We adopted a significance criteria of 0.05 in all analyzes. Clinical trial registered under the number UTN: U1111-1179-7619. RESULTS: In the first fase, five variables were individually associated with the perceived stress score, remaining predictors in the adjusted model: age (p <0.001), being male (p <0.001), occupying a technical level position (p = 0.013) when compared to basic level position and depression (p <0.001) and anxiety scores (p <0.001). The adjusted model explained 57.9% of the variation in the Perceived Stress Scale. At the second stage, the EG presented a reduction in the mean scores for perceived stress (p<0.001), depression (p<0.001) and anxiety (p=0.003), and increased the total mean score for Mindfulness (p=0.012) and at the facet 3observe p=0.010 and facet 6-do not react to internal experience: p=0.002, when compared to CG. The same post-intervention effect was not observed for burnout at the total score (p=0.314) and in none of the dimensions of the scale (Emotional Exhaustion: p=0.083; Cynicism: p=0.736 and Work Efficacy: p=.486). CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in the first fase contribute to understand the main predictors of perceived stress in a sample of technical-administrative workers in a higher education public institution. In the second fase, the results show that Mindfulness Program resulted in reduction of perceived stress, depression, anxiety and increased Mindfulness, noting the beneficial potential of the intervention for a non-clinical sample of workers