Determining the Effect of Mindfulness and Storytelling on STEM Graduate Student Wellbeing

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate whether storytelling and mindfulness practices can improve wellbeing and academic success among graduate students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The study will explore if mindfulness and storytelling increase measures of wellbeing such as stress, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and academic persistence. Participants will be recruited from the graduate student body and data will be collected over a period of up to two years, with the entire study expected to last four years. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: a control group completing surveys only, an intervention group attending a virtual Science Story workshop, an intervention group using the Healthy Minds Program (HMP) app for mindfulness practice for two weeks, or an intervention group receiving both the storytelling workshop and mindfulness app intervention. The storytelling workshop is a single 120-minute virtual session teaching creative writing tools. The mindfulness practice involves guided meditations using the HMP app for at least 15 minutes daily over 14 days. During the study, participants will complete questionnaires at baseline and four weeks to measure changes in mindfulness, stress, wellbeing, depression, anxiety, sleep, global health, flourishing, academic alliance, persistence, burnout, and Healthy Minds Index. Academic progress will also be tracked through grade point average, enrollment, and dissertator status over two years. The study involves no masking, and participants will be monitored via surveys and app usage. The total participation time varies but involves initial and follow-up assessments and ongoing academic status tracking.

Storytelling and Mindfulness for Graduate Student Wellbeing