Via Research Recognition Day 2024 VCOM-Carolinas

Educational Reports

Measuring the Impact of Mindfulness Techniques on College Students Matthew Fitzpatrick, Skye Greer, Grant Hagglund, Vincent Hoffman, Grace Ralston, Andrew Cameron Sellers, Tyler Stoneman Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Carolinas Campus, Spartanburg, SC Background Results Discussion

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Methods There are increasing global concerns for the mental health of adolescents and young adults. Suicide in 10-34-year-olds is the second leading cause of death, increasing by 35% from 1999 to 2018. 4 Stress has been strongly associated with a greater likelihood of suicide attempts and mental health symptoms. 6 Mindfulness training through attention regulation has shown improvement in symptoms of anxiety and depression. 5 Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to reduce stress and increase resilience to stress via healthy coping mechanisms. 3 Anderson County is in the NW upstate region of South Carolina and has a population of 209,581 residents. 8 Amongst the various health disparities, suicide rates and mental health outcomes are the most significant, exceeding the state average for suicide in all age groups up until age 74. The most elevated suicide rates from 2011 to 2020 was in the 20-24 year old range which was 1.6 times higher than the state average. 1 Anderson County has 33% fewer mental health professions per 10,000 people compared to the state average despite increased reports of mental health symptoms and depression compared to the state. 1 Considering the lack of mental health care providers and lower SES status in Anderson County, assessing mental health outcomes in this cohort required affordable and accessible techniques. We hypothesized that implementing mindfulness techniques would improve mental health in college students at Anderson University. Exempt approval granted by Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine Institutional Review Board. Participants : Participants recruited from a co-ed scholarship program at an Anderson County university. Scholarship program director permitted recruitment and served as communication liaison to maintain participant anonymity. Procedures : Investigators presented the study background, purpose, and procedures to 60 of the 110 students in the program • A recruitment email was sent to all 110 students which included the three-step procedure with all necessary resources and consent statements 1. Participants completed an initial survey through Question Pro survey software, a replica of a 15-question pre-validated University of California-Berkley (UC Berkley) survey assessing attention and focus through Likert scales 2,7 2. The subjects followed a five-minute guided mindfulness audio file daily for five days at the convenience of each participant 9 3. The same survey was distributed on the final day after the fifth mindfulness session • A reminder email was sent on the last day to reduce the loss-to-follow-up Analysis : Results from all surveys were accumulated into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet • Primary analysis followed the pre-validated method of the UC-Berkley survey by totaling Likert scale values for each participant and calculating the average score for their survey 2,7 . These average scores were averaged across all initial and final surveys as well as individual questions. • Demographic data was compiled from the surveys to assess generalizability.

Noteworthy Findings • This investigation sought to understand the effect of implementing mindfulness-based activities into the daily routine of college students in Anderson County, South Carolina • Mindfulness activities are cost-effective and time efficient • Increases in in self-reported mindfulness scores represents an increased attention and consciousness of the present moment • The most significant improvements in mindfulness: ▪ Attention while listening to others ▪ Feeling less preoccupied with the future or past. • The demographic data reflects the target population of young adults in South Carolina Limitations • Lack of participation and significant loss to follow-up limited the study's validity and power • Study results were not statistically significant ( P= 0.37) • Limited time allotted to explain the study to survey participants • Unsupervised mindfulness exercises • Loss of participant interest in the investigation. Future Recommendations • Guided or scheduled mindfulness activities • Larger sample size and selection • Incentives to increase participation and limit loss to follow-up

I find myself preoccupied with the future or the past. I find myself doing things without paying attention. I snack without being aware that I’m eating.

15%

19%

5%

. I could be experiencing some emotion and not be conscious of… I break or spill things because of carelessness, not paying… I find it difficult to stay focused on what’s happening in the… I tend to walk quickly to get where I’m going without paying… I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort… I forget a person’s name almost as soon as I’ve been told it for… It seems I am “running on automatic,” without much awareness… I rush through activities without being really attentive to them. I get so focused on the goal I want to achieve that I lose touch … I do jobs or tasks automatically, without being aware of what… I find myself listening to someone with one ear, doing… I drive places on ‘automatic pilot’ and then wonder why I went…

22%

-5%

10%

12%

-31%

-16%

9%

1%

7%

-2%

-1%

Figure 3. Percent change in average mindfulness score between pre- and post-mindfulness exercise survey questions.

Conclusion

Figure 4. Pre- and post-mindfulness-based exercise participant survey quartile scores.

This study contributes to the preexisting evidence that short mindfulness-based exercises can improve mental health. The results show an improvement in personal mindfulness scores and individual question improvement, reflecting the benefits of short mindfulness activities after only one week of implementation. Daily completion of this effective strategy is promising in combating mental health decline in college students.

12%

Yes No Maybe

23%

65%

References

Figure 5. South Carolina counties where survey participants have lived most of their lives.

Figure 6. Percent of survey participants who have previously practiced mindfulness-based exercises.

Table 1. Population Statistics and Outcomes

Table 2. Conversion of Numerical Scores to Survey Response Choices

# of Pre-Survey Participants # of Post-Survey Participants

34

1 2 3 4 5 6

Almost Always Very Frequently

8

For more information about our data:

Our references are linked here:

Pre-Survey Mindfulness Avg. Score Post-Survey Mindfulness Avg. Score Avg. Participant % Improvement Avg. Question % Improvement (Excluding outliers)

3.43 3.64

Somewhat Frequently Somewhat Infrequently

6.12%

Very Infrequently

Almost Never

5.77%

86

2024 Research Recognition Day