Abstract
Health science majors are both physically and emotionally demanding educational pathways with high expectations. These difficult fields of study place students at risk for stress-related illness, such as anxiety and depression. Many health science students are expected to succeed in their educational programs and provide care for others, despite the mental challenges they face daily. These psychological factors are continuously pushing this population of students to seek treatment for their mental well-being. A large body of assessment literature suggests that mindfulness can be used as a practice to relieve stress and enhance the mental well-being of undergraduate college students. Studies show that using mindfulness-based practices can help alleviate the stress and negative emotions these students experience both inside and outside the classroom. Mindfulness, in this aspect, can be used to achieve a clear mind and optimal mental stability. This integrative practice is efficient in symptom reduction and aims to improve overall psychological well-being. As a result of improved mental health within this population, students can metacognitively provide quality care in their clinical settings, while also meeting educational demands in their studies. With the implementation of mindfulness-based practice in the university setting, is expected to increase mindfulness and resilience levels. This study aimed to determine if an in-class mindfulness intervention in a sample of first-year undergraduate health science students in the university setting will elicit powerful changes for pre-healthcare undergraduate students and will be helpful in the development of their clinical careers, in terms of resilience.
Keywords: mindfulness, mindfulness-based intervention, mindfulness-based stress reduction, undergraduate students, health science students, mental health, mindfulness, resilience, nursing students
Semester/Year of Award
Fall 11-22-2023
Mentor
David Coffey
Mentor Department Affiliation
Nursing
Access Options
Open Access Thesis
Document Type
Bachelor Thesis
Degree Name
Honors Scholars
Degree Level
Bachelors
Department
Nursing
IRB Approval Number (if applicable)
5348
Recommended Citation
Carpenter, Avery M., "Integrating Mindfulness- Based Practice into University Curriculum: Building Resilience Among Undergraduate Health Science Students" (2023). Honors Theses. 980.
https://encompass.eku.edu/honors_theses/980
