Mind fulness training for pharmacy undergraduate students in University College Cork (UCC) - Quantitative results of a mixed methods study

Background: Stress negatively impacts upon physical and mental health, with pharmacy students demonstrating higher levels of stress than the general population (Beck et al., 1997; Misra & Castillo, 2004; Marshall et al., 2008; Gallagher et al., 2014). Mindfulness may be a suitable way to improve students' mood and overall wellbeing, in order to cope with the stress of their degree and future careers. Objectives: To determine the quantitative effects of a mindfulness course on pharmacy students' mood, stress, burnout, empathy and mindfulness levels. Methodology: Undergraduate pharmacy students of UCC were invited to take part in this study during the 2016/2017 academic year. Participants were assigned alphabetically by surname to either an intervention or control group. The intervention group were given a mindfulness course of four two-hour sessions, while the control group received usual education. Demographics and validated quantitative measures were collected at baseline and post-intervention. . Results: Ninety-nine students participated (66% female, 91% Irish). There were no significant differences between groups at baseline. At follow-up, the intervention group had a higher mood score than the control (p<0.005) and scored better in the observing (p=0.01) and describing (p=0.01) facets of mindfulness. Stress, professional efficacy, exhaustion and cynicism levels were maintained in the intervention group, while they dis-improved in the control group. However, these findings did not reach statistical significance (p=0.06, 0.24, 0.19, 0.23 respectively). Discussion: This study has shown that a mindfulness course can significantly improve pharmacy students' mood and mindfulness levels, while measures of stress, burnout and empathy demonstrated improvements which trended towards significance. These results warrant further investigation with longer courses, and regular daily home practice, in order to provide pharmacy students with a well-rounded education and skillset.