Mental Health: Meditation and music helped field hospital workers fight stress

During one of the most critical periods of the Covid-19 pandemic, professors from the Faculty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de São Paulo (FCMSCSP) carried out a study to assess the impact of relaxation techniques on professionals working at Hospital de Campanha do Anhembi, in the north zone of São Paulo.

The research “A stress management program in a Covid-19 field hospital: a proof-of-concept test” was coordinated by Marcelo Bruno Generoso, professor at the Department of Mental Health at FCMSCSP, who also works as a psychiatrist at the Municipal Secretariat of Health of São Paulo (SMS-SP). Pedro Shiozawa, assistant professor at FCMSCSP, and Ricardo Riyoiti Uchida, head of the College’s Mental Health Department, also took part.

The program included meditation sessions, listening groups and jazz and blues music dynamics and was developed by the FCMSCSP Mental Health Department in partnership with SMS-SP. The activities were conducted by psychiatry residents. The four chosen strategies were selected based on levels of scientific evidence of stress reduction programs in work environments.

In total, 441 volunteers participated —including doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, nursing technicians and other workers involved in the care of patients in the field hospital—, from April 11 to September 8, 2020.

The activities were carried out in groups, within the isolation area of ​​patients diagnosed with Covid-19, in compliance with all biosafety standards. In order not to affect care, interventions were carried out in a rotation system in order to allow the voluntary participation of professionals, without prejudice to care.

Lasting about 30 minutes, the sessions took place four times a day to facilitate the adherence of professionals, who could adhere according to the demand and possibilities of the service.

Volunteers could participate in guided meditation groups focusing on parts of the body, guided meditation groups focusing on breathing, listening groups —in which anguish and difficulties faced at work were shared—, and music groups, in which professionals they listened to jazz or blues music and then were encouraged to share emotions and feelings. The order in which the activities were carried out was randomized to allow statistical analysis of the results.

Anxiety, motivation and stress levels were checked before the sessions and immediately after using visual analogue scales and Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) scale.

Regardless of the activity performed, the researchers detected a positive effect for all outcomes, with a mean reduction of 16.75% for anxiety, a 27.5% reduction for stress and a 9.4% increase in motivation.

“Interestingly, we did not verify the superiority of one activity over the other. Carrying out all dynamics in a group format, mutual support, perception of mental health care and the existence of a safe space to talk about feelings and emotions may have contributed for the positive results of the interventions”, observes Generoso.

The psychiatrist says that, among the activities included in the program, meditative practices and listening and support groups are those that have the highest degree of scientific evidence in the literature, demonstrating an important improvement in depressive and anxious symptoms.

These practices can even be carried out by professionals from other areas who wish to reduce stress in their daily lives. “The search for stress reduction strategies can also be individual, that is, each one perceives what helps them to feel better and withstand adversity. For some it may be the practice of physical activity and, for others, listening to music “, he states.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, several interventions were carried out around the world, but most of the projects focused on welcoming health professionals with the aim of relieving symptoms or intervening early in case of illness. In the FCMSCSP study, not only that was sought, but also to prevent mental illness. “We managed to develop the actions and measure the results simultaneously, proving, with a scientific method, that the interventions had a positive effect”, explains Generoso.

Field hospitals were health equipment installed by several cities across Brazil to increase hospital capacity in the most difficult period of the pandemic. The Anhembi Campaign Hospital performed more than 6,000 consultations and 5,000 discharges, around 89,000 exams including clinical analysis, tomography, radiology and X-ray exams.

Follow the Mental Health blog on twitteron Instagram and Facebook.