Me-GC: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Meditation for Genetic Counselors

This study is designed to determine whether meditation is beneficial for genetic counselors and genetic counseling students. The main goal is to see if meditation can help with professional well-being (burnout for genetic counselors, stress for genetic counseling students). The investigators will also explore whether meditation has other benefits for the genetic counseling profession.

The investigators will recruit 390-420 genetic counselors and 189-210 genetic counseling students. Participants will be randomized into one of three groups of roughly the same size: two meditation groups and an observational group. All three groups will fill out online surveys at several points in the study. The only thing the observational group will be asked to do is fill out these surveys. The meditation groups will be asked to meditate for 10 minutes a day for 8 weeks. Participants will be provided with an app or website that instructs them on how to meditate. Outcome analyses will be done with an intention to treat approach. Outcomes will be assessed using linear regression with the outcome variable as the dependent variable and baseline outcome measure, baseline mindfulness, and treatment group as the independent variables. Secondary outcomes will be considered exploratory. The study is funded by the Jane Engelberg Memorial Foundation