Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms

Introduction: The increasing burden on mental health has become a worldwide concern especially due to its substantial negative social and economic impact. The implementation of prevention actions and psychological interventions is crucial to mitigate these consequences, and evidence supporting its e...

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Autores: Castro Ribeiro, Thaís|||0000-0003-2536-7194, Sobregrau Sangrà, Pau|||0000-0001-9919-5271, García Pagès, Esther|||0000-0002-9225-845X, Badiella Busquets, Llorenç|||0000-0002-9653-7421, López-Barbeito, Beatriz, Aguiló, Sira|||0000-0001-9334-1282, Aguiló Llobet, Jordi|||0000-0002-4691-5754
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:286218
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/286218
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1147260
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Stress objective assessment
Effectiveness of interventions
Electrophysiological model
Heart rate variability biofeedback
Healthcare workers
Mental health
Stress
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spelling Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptomsa pilot studyCastro Ribeiro, Thaís|||0000-0003-2536-7194Sobregrau Sangrà, Pau|||0000-0001-9919-5271García Pagès, Esther|||0000-0002-9225-845XBadiella Busquets, Llorenç|||0000-0002-9653-7421López-Barbeito, BeatrizAguiló, Sira|||0000-0001-9334-1282Aguiló Llobet, Jordi|||0000-0002-4691-5754Stress objective assessmentEffectiveness of interventionsElectrophysiological modelHeart rate variability biofeedbackHealthcare workersMental healthStressIntroduction: The increasing burden on mental health has become a worldwide concern especially due to its substantial negative social and economic impact. The implementation of prevention actions and psychological interventions is crucial to mitigate these consequences, and evidence supporting its effectiveness would facilitate a more assertive response. Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) has been proposed as a potential intervention to improve mental wellbeing through mechanisms in autonomic functioning. The aim of this study is to propose and evaluate the validity of an objective procedure to assess the effectiveness of a HRV-BF protocol in mitigating mental health symptoms in a sample of frontline HCWs (healthcare workers) who worked in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A prospective experimental study applying a HRV-BF protocol was conducted with 21 frontline healthcare workers in 5 weekly sessions. For PRE-POST intervention comparisons, two different approaches were used to evaluate mental health status: applying (a) gold-standard psychometric questionnaires and (b) electrophysiological multiparametric models for chronic and acute stress assessment. Results: After HRV-BF intervention, psychometric questionnaires showed a reduction in mental health symptoms and stress perception. The electrophysiological multiparametric also showed a reduction in chronic stress levels, while the acute stress levels were similar in PRE and POST conditions. A significant reduction in respiratory rate and an increase in some heart rate variability parameters, such as SDNN, LFn, and LF/HF ratio, were also observed after intervention. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a 5-session HRV-BF protocol is an effective intervention for reducing stress and other mental health symptoms among frontline HCWs who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. The electrophysiological multiparametric models provide relevant information about the current mental health state, being useful for objectively evaluating the effectiveness of stress-reducing interventions. Further research could replicate the proposed procedure to confirm its feasibility for different samples and specific interventions. 22023-01-0120232023-01-01Articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://ddd.uab.cat/record/286218https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1147260reponame:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UABinstname:Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaInglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:ddd.uab.cat:2862182026-06-06T12:50:31Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
a pilot study
title Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
spellingShingle Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
Castro Ribeiro, Thaís|||0000-0003-2536-7194
Stress objective assessment
Effectiveness of interventions
Electrophysiological model
Heart rate variability biofeedback
Healthcare workers
Mental health
Stress
title_short Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
title_full Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
title_fullStr Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
title_full_unstemmed Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
title_sort Assessing effectiveness of heart rate variability biofeedback to mitigate mental health symptoms
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Castro Ribeiro, Thaís|||0000-0003-2536-7194
Sobregrau Sangrà, Pau|||0000-0001-9919-5271
García Pagès, Esther|||0000-0002-9225-845X
Badiella Busquets, Llorenç|||0000-0002-9653-7421
López-Barbeito, Beatriz
Aguiló, Sira|||0000-0001-9334-1282
Aguiló Llobet, Jordi|||0000-0002-4691-5754
author Castro Ribeiro, Thaís|||0000-0003-2536-7194
author_facet Castro Ribeiro, Thaís|||0000-0003-2536-7194
Sobregrau Sangrà, Pau|||0000-0001-9919-5271
García Pagès, Esther|||0000-0002-9225-845X
Badiella Busquets, Llorenç|||0000-0002-9653-7421
López-Barbeito, Beatriz
Aguiló, Sira|||0000-0001-9334-1282
Aguiló Llobet, Jordi|||0000-0002-4691-5754
author_role author
author2 Sobregrau Sangrà, Pau|||0000-0001-9919-5271
García Pagès, Esther|||0000-0002-9225-845X
Badiella Busquets, Llorenç|||0000-0002-9653-7421
López-Barbeito, Beatriz
Aguiló, Sira|||0000-0001-9334-1282
Aguiló Llobet, Jordi|||0000-0002-4691-5754
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Stress objective assessment
Effectiveness of interventions
Electrophysiological model
Heart rate variability biofeedback
Healthcare workers
Mental health
Stress
topic Stress objective assessment
Effectiveness of interventions
Electrophysiological model
Heart rate variability biofeedback
Healthcare workers
Mental health
Stress
description Introduction: The increasing burden on mental health has become a worldwide concern especially due to its substantial negative social and economic impact. The implementation of prevention actions and psychological interventions is crucial to mitigate these consequences, and evidence supporting its effectiveness would facilitate a more assertive response. Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRV-BF) has been proposed as a potential intervention to improve mental wellbeing through mechanisms in autonomic functioning. The aim of this study is to propose and evaluate the validity of an objective procedure to assess the effectiveness of a HRV-BF protocol in mitigating mental health symptoms in a sample of frontline HCWs (healthcare workers) who worked in the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A prospective experimental study applying a HRV-BF protocol was conducted with 21 frontline healthcare workers in 5 weekly sessions. For PRE-POST intervention comparisons, two different approaches were used to evaluate mental health status: applying (a) gold-standard psychometric questionnaires and (b) electrophysiological multiparametric models for chronic and acute stress assessment. Results: After HRV-BF intervention, psychometric questionnaires showed a reduction in mental health symptoms and stress perception. The electrophysiological multiparametric also showed a reduction in chronic stress levels, while the acute stress levels were similar in PRE and POST conditions. A significant reduction in respiratory rate and an increase in some heart rate variability parameters, such as SDNN, LFn, and LF/HF ratio, were also observed after intervention. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that a 5-session HRV-BF protocol is an effective intervention for reducing stress and other mental health symptoms among frontline HCWs who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic. The electrophysiological multiparametric models provide relevant information about the current mental health state, being useful for objectively evaluating the effectiveness of stress-reducing interventions. Further research could replicate the proposed procedure to confirm its feasibility for different samples and specific interventions.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2
2023-01-01
2023
2023-01-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://ddd.uab.cat/record/286218
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1147260
url https://ddd.uab.cat/record/286218
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1147260
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
instname:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
instname_str Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
collection Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
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repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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