Research Symposium

BIO

Hello, my name is Isabella Miller. I'm from Saint Augustine, FL and am currently studying Nursing as a sophomore at FSU. I hope to one day get additional education and obtain my Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) degree. I'm very interested in Pediatrics and Orthopedics, but I'm not entirely sure where I want to be focused yet. I currently work as a Patient Care Assistant in the Surgical Care Unit at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare (TMH), and I love how much I've learned through this job. It's truly amazing the work doctors and nurses do, so I'm very excited for my future career. In my free time, I love to go to the beach, hangout with friends, stay active through things like running and pickleball, and traveling.

4 Minute, Asynchronous Mindfulness Intervention in the X-Ray Waiting Room: Results from a Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Mindfulness effectively improves a wide range of clinical outcomes. However, little is known about brief, single session mindfulness interventions. This study investigated whether a brief, single-session, asynchronous mindfulness intervention can reduce patients' pain intensity and pain unpleasantness in a waiting room setting. If effective, this intervention could significantly expand the access to mindfulness in clinical settings. In this randomized controlled trial, patients at an orthopedic walk-in clinic (n=159) were randomly allocated to either a 4-minute mindfulness audio recording or a 4-minute injury management control recording prior to treatment while they sat in the clinic waiting room. Participants completed single-item pain intensity and pain unpleasantness numeric rating scales (0-10), and then they listened to their respective audio recording. Immediately after the recording, they completed the pain intensity and pain unpleasantness items again. Results indicated the brief, audio-recorded mindfulness intervention decreased patients’ pain intensity and pain unpleasantness in the waiting room relative to the injury management control condition. Significantly more mindfulness participants experienced a clinically meaningful decrease in pain intensity (i.e., >15%): 35% vs. 20%, p=.044. Additionally, significantly more mindfulness participants expressed interest in further pain management resources: 54% vs. 38%, p=.032. Our findings suggest that a brief, audio-recorded mindfulness intervention can significantly decrease patients’ pain while they wait for treatment. This supports the idea that these brief mindfulness interventions can help reduce symptoms of patients in waiting rooms without burdening clinical staff. Future research is now needed to investigate whether these results generalize to other patient populations or clinical contexts.

Keywords: mindfulness, pain management, pain intensity, complementary medicine, single-session intervention