Data for: Mindfulness in motion targeted to sustaining the mental and physical resilience of first responders
Data files
Jul 13, 2026 version files 926.51 KB
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FR__Connor-Davidson_Resilience_Scale_.pdf
223.58 KB
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FR__Perceived_Stress_Scale_.pdf
224.35 KB
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FR__Utrecht_Work_Engagement_Scale_.pdf
226.22 KB
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FR_Code_File_for_FRs.txt
3.68 KB
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FR_Data_Final__rev_7_8_26.xlsx
26.88 KB
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FR_First_Responder_Demographics.txt
226 B
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FR_Modified_Nordic_Questionnaire.pdf
174.72 KB
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Modified_Nordic_Questionnaire_Firefighter_Raw_Data.xlsx
26.43 KB
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NORDIC_Code_File_Modified_Nordic_Questionnaire.txt
2.13 KB
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README.md
18.28 KB
Abstract
Chronic and recurrent workplace stress can profoundly impact the physical, mental, and emotional health of first responders, with downstream consequences for injury risk, quality and safety of patient care, and organizational performance. Mindfulness in Motion is an evidence-based multi-modal workplace intervention integrating mindfulness practices, gentle movement, and facilitated group discussion to reduce stress and burnout while enhancing resilience and work engagement. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Mindfulness in Motion among first responders using a virtually delivered, synchronous format supplemented by a companion smartphone application designed to support ongoing practice and engagement.
Fifty-one first responders participated in the mindfulness intervention across three cohorts over nine months. Self-reported outcomes, including perceived stress, resilience, work engagement, and musculoskeletal pain, were collected at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and six months following completion of the eight-week program.
First responder participants demonstrated significant reductions in perceived stress and musculoskeletal pain, along with significant increases in resilience and work engagement, immediately following the intervention. At six-month follow-up, improvements were sustained for perceived stress and resilience, with first responders continuing to report significantly lower stress and increased resilience compared to baseline.
The Mindfulness in Motion intervention was associated with improvements in both physical and psychological stress-related outcomes among first responders, with benefits sustained for at least six months post-intervention. Future research should examine longer-term effects across diverse geographic and organizational settings to assess generalizability. Additionally, studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying sustained benefits, including the role of accessibility and usability of the companion smartphone application, as well as the independent and synergistic effects of app-based and synchronous intervention components.
This submission reflects the raw dataset that includes de-identified demographic indicators for the cohorts of first responders who participated in an eight-week worksite mindfulness intervention supplemented by the use of the companion smartphone app; use of the app continued for six months after the eight-week mindfulness program was completed. The dataset (REDCap data exported to Excel) and code (STATA Software) used to run the analysis on pre-, post-intervention, and 6-month post-intervention outcome measures of perceived stress (PSS-10), resilience (CD-10), work engagement (UWES-9), and musculoskeletal pain (mNMQ) are also included. The REDCap Excel file is labeled with each outcome measure and question numbers for the measures. The responses (number) for each outcome measure question align to the Likert scale range specific to each measure; this de-identified file can be used freely.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4j0zpc8t1
Description of the data and file structure
This prospective cohort study evaluated the effects of the Mindfulness in Motion (MIM) intervention on perceived stress, resilience, work engagement, and musculoskeletal pain among community-based first responders. Three cohorts participated in eight weekly, synchronous virtual MIM sessions delivered during the workday between September 2023 and May 2024. The intervention was supplemented by a companion MIM smartphone application. Following completion of the synchronous sessions, participants retained access to the MIM smartphone app for six months that included evidence-based mindfulness content, guided meditations, body scans, and experiential practices. Outcome measures were collected at baseline (pre-intervention), immediately post-intervention, and at 6-month follow-up.
Files and variables
File: FR__Connor-Davidson_Resilience_Scale_.pdf
Description: The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10) is a 10-item self-report assessment of a person's ability to bounce back after adversity (α= 0.85). A 5-point Likert Scale for each statement ranges from 0=Not True at All to 4=True Nearly All of the Time. A respondent's total sum score can range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher resilience.
File: FR__Perceived_Stress_Scale_.pdf
Description: The Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), a 10-item self-report measure of perceived stress, measures the degree to which situations in one's life are appraised as stressful over the past month. The 4-point Likert Scale responses are 0=never to 4=very often. After reverse scoring certain items, individual scores are summed and range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress (α = > 0.70; test-retest reliability = > 0.70).
File: FR__Utrecht_Work_Engagement_Scale_.pdf
Description: The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-9 (UWES-9) is a 9-item assessment of attitudes towards one’s job (α=0.92). The UWES-9 measures three dimensions: dedication (α=0.86), vigor (α=0.86), and absorption (α=0.79). All items are rated on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 0=Never to 6=Always. Each subscale item is summed to range from 0 to 18. Higher scores for each sub scale indicate higher dedication, vigor, and absorption with work.
File: FR_Modified_Nordic_Questionnaire.pdf
Description: The Modified Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (mNMQ) is a standardized 14-item tool for assessing musculoskeletal symptoms, over the past 12 months and past seven days, across multiple body regions. The nine anatomical areas include the neck, shoulders, upper back, elbows, lower back, wrists/hands, hips/thighs, knees, and ankles/feet. The tool uses a structured, forced‑choice format supported by a body map.
FR_First_Responder_Demographics.txt
Description: Three demographic participant questions that includes age range, gender, and years of experience as a first responder
File: FR_Data_Final__rev_7_8_26.xlsx
Description: Raw data that includes coded participant data
Variables
Demographics: Age range (1=18-25 years; 2=26-34 years; 3=35-44 years; 4=45-54 years; 5=55=64 years; 6=65-74 years); gender (1=male; 2=female); years of experience as a first responder
Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10)
- pss01_pre (question 1) through pss10_pre (question 10) participant pre-intervention survey scores
0=never; 1=almost never; 2=sometimes; 3=fairly often; 4=very often
- pss01_post (question 1) through pss10_post (question 10) participant post-intervention survey scores
0=never; 1=almost never; 2=sometimes; 3=fairly often; 4=very often
- pss04_prenew through pss08_prenew = reverse scoring
- pss04_postnew through pss08_postnew = reverse scoring
- psspre = total participant pre-intervention score
- psspost = total participant post-intervention score
- changepss = total post-intervention minus total pre-intervention score
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-10 (CD-RISC-10)
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cdrs01_pre (question 1) through cdrs10_pre (question 10) participant pre-intervention survey scores
0=not true at all; 1=rarely true; 3=sometimes true; 4=often true; 5=true nearly all the time
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cdrs01_post (question 1) through cdrs10_post (question 10) participant post-intervention survey scores
0=not true at all; 1=rarely true; 3=sometimes true; 4=often true; 5=true nearly all the time
- cdrspre = total participant pre-intervention score
- cdrspost = total participant post-intervention score
- changecdrs = participant total post-intervention minus total pre-intervention score
Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-9 (UWES-9)
- uwes01_pre (question 1) through uwes09_pre (question 9) participant pre-intervention survey scores
0=never; 1=almost never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=often; 5=very often; 6=always
- uwes01_post (question 1) through uwes08_post participant post-intervention survey scores
0=never; 1=almost never; 2=rarely; 3=sometimes; 4=often; 5=very often; 6=always
- uwespre=mean participant pre-intervention uwes score
- uwespost=mean participant post-intervention uwes score
- changeuwes = mean participant post-intervention score minus mean participant pre-intervention score
- uwesvigorpre = mean participant pre-intervention uwes vigor sub scale score
- uwesvigorpost = mean participant post-intervention uwes vigor sub scale score
- uwesdedpre = mean participant pre-intervention uwes dedication sub scale score
- uwesdedpost = mean participant post-intervention uwes dedication sub scale score
- uwesabsppre = mean participant pre-intervention uwes absorption sub scale score
- uwesabsppost = mean participant post-intervention uwes absorption sub scale score
File: FR_Code_File_for_FRs.txt
Description: STATA/SE 17.0 code use for data analysis of CD-RISC-10, PSS-10, and UWES-9
File: NORDIC_Code_File_Modified_Nordic_Questionnaire.txt
Description: STATA/SE 17.0 code used for data analysis of Modified Nordic Questionnaire participant responses
File: Modified_Nordic_Questionnaire_Firefighter_Raw_Data.xlsx
Description: survey data provided by first responder participants
Variables
- Record ID: participant identification number (correlates to participant ID numbers in FR Data File)
- Survey Identifier: cohort (Fall, Winter, Spring) survey time administered (pre-intervention)
- Please select your MIM session: first responder category and weekly session time
- Question 1: neck_pre, Areas Neck pre-intervention; neck_post, Areas Neck post-intervention. Responses are 0=no, 1=yes. shoulder_pre, Areas Shoulder pre-intervention; shoulder_post, Areas Shoulder post-intervention. Responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both. elbow_pre, Areas Elbow/Forearm pre-intervention; elbow_post, Areas Elbow/Forearm post-intervention. Responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both. wrist_pre, Areas Wrist/Hand pre-intervention; wrist_post, Areas Wrist/Hand post-intervention. Responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both. upperback_pre, Areas Upper Back pre-intervention; upperback_post, Areas Upper back post-intervention. Responses are 0=no, 1=yes. lowerback_pre, Areas Lower Back pre-intervention, lowerback_post, Areas Lower Back post-intervention. Responses are 0=no, 1=yes. legs_pre, Areas Legs/Feet pre-intervention, legs_post, Areas Legs/Feet post-intervention. Responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both.
- Question 2: neckoften_pre, neck pre-intervention, neckoften_post, neck post-intervention; shoulderoften_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulder often_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowoften_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbow often_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristoften_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wrist often_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbackoften_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbackoften_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbackoften_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbackoften_post, lower back post-intervention; legsoften_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legs often_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 1=daily, 2= a few days a week, 3=once a week, 4=a few times a month, 5=once a month, missing values indicated by blank cells.
- Question 3: necklength_pre, neck pre-intervention, necklength_post, neck post-intervention; shoulder length_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulder length_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowlength_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbow length_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristlength_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristlength_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbacklength_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbacklength_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbacklength_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbacklength_post, lower back post-intervention; legslength_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legs length_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 1=less than 1 hour, 2=1 hour to 1 day, 3=1 day to 1 week, 4=1-2 weeks, 5=2-4 weeks, missing values indicated by blank cells.
- Question 4: neckintensity_pre, neck pre-intervention, neckintensity_post, neck post-intervention; shoulderintensity_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulderintensity_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowintensity_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowintensity_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristintensity_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristintensity_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbackintensity_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbackintensity_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbackintensity_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbackintensity_post, lower back post-intervention; legsintensity_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legsintensity_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe, 4=worst imaginable, missing values indicated by blank cells.
- Question 5: neckprevention_pre, neck pre-intervention, neckpostvention_post, neck post-intervention; shoulderprevention_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulderpostvention_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowprevention_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowpostvention_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristprevention_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristpostvention_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbackprevention_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbackpostvention_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbackprevention_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbackpostvention_post, lower back post-intervention; legs prevention_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legspostvention_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 0=no, 1=yes, missing values indicated by blank cells.
- Question 6: neckinterfere_pre, neck pre-intervention, neckinterfere_post, neck post-intervention; shoulderinterfere_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulderinterfere_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowinterfere_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowinterfere_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristinterfere_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristinterfere_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbackinterfere_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbackinterfere_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbackinterfere_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbackinterfere_post, lower back post-intervention; legsinterfere_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legsinterfere_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 0=no, 1=yes, missing values indicated by black cells.
- Question 7: necktrouble_pre, neck pre-intervention, necktrouble_post, neck post-intervention; shouldertrouble_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shouldertrouble_post, should post-intervention; elbowtrouble_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowtrouble_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristtrouble_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristtrouble_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbacktrouble_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbacktrouble_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbacktrouble_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbacktrouble_post, lower back post-intervention; legstrouble_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legstrouble_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 0=no, 1=yes, missing values indicated by black cells.
- Question 8: neckworse_pre, neck pre-intervention, neckworse_post, neck post-intervention; shoulderworse_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulderworse_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowworse_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowworse_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristworse_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristworse_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbackworse_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbackworse_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbackworse_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbackworse_post, lower back post-intervention; legsworse_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legsworse_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 0=no, 1=yes, missing values indicated by black cells.
- Question 9: necktime_pre, neck pre-intervention, necktime_post, neck post-intervention; shouldertime_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shouldertime_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowtime_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowtime_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristtime_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristtime_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbacktime_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbacktime_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbacktime_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbacktime_post, lower back post-intervention; legstime_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legstime_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 0=no, 1=yes, missing values indicated by black cells.
- Question 10: neckpastweek_pre, neck pre-intervention, neckpastweek_post, neck post-intervention; shoulderpastweek_pre, shoulder pre-intervention, shoulderpastweek_post, shoulder post-intervention; elbowpastweek_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention, elbowpastweek_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention; wristpastweek_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention, wristpastweek_post, wrist/hand post-intervention; upperbackpastweek_pre, upper back pre-intervention, upperbackpastweek_post, upper back post-intervention; lowerbackpastweek_pre, lower back pre-intervention, lowerbackpastweek_post, lower back post-intervention; legspastweek_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention, legspastweek_post, legs/feet post-intervention. All responses are 0=no, 1=yes, missing values indicated by black cells.
- Question 11: neckmusculoskeletal_pre, neckmusculoskeletal_post, shouldermusculoskeletal_pre, shouldermusculoskeletal_post, elbowmusculoskeletal_pre, elbowmusculoskeletal_post, wristmusculoskeletal_pre, wristmusculoskeletal_post, upperbackmusculoskeletal_pre, upperbackmusculoskeletal_post, lowerbackmusculoskeletal_pre, lowerbackmusculoskeletal_post, legsmusculoskeletal_pre, legsmusculoskeletal_post, responses are 0=no, 1=yes. Musculoskeletal diagnoses are provided in text format; year of diagnoses are provided in text format. Missing values indicated by blank cells.
- Question 11 (two number 11s on Modified Nordic Questionnaire): necktraumatic_pre, pre-intervention assessment, necktraumatic_post, post-intervention assessment; responses are 0=no, 1=yes. shouldertraumatic_pre, pre-intervention assessment, shouldertraumatic_post, post-intervention assessment; responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both. elbowtraumatic_pre, elbow/forearm pre-intervention assessment, elbowtraumatic_post, elbow/forearm post-intervention assessment; responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both. wristtraumatic_pre, wrist/hand pre-intervention assessment, wristtraumatic_post, wrist/hand post-intervention assessment; responses are 1=no, 2=yes, right, 3=yes, left, 4=yes, both. upperbacktraumatic_pre, pre-intervention assessment, upperbacktraumatic_post, post-intervention assessment; responses are 0=no, 1=yes. lowrbacktraumatic_pre, pre-intervention assessment, lowrbacktraumatic_post, post-intervention assessment; responses are 0=no, 1=yes. legstraumatic_pre, legs/feet pre-intervention assessment, legstraumatic_post, legs/feet post-intervention assessment; responses are 0=no, 1=yes, right, 2=yes, left, 3=yes, both. Missing values for all variables are indicated by blank cells.
- Question 12: headache_pre, pre-intervention assessment, headache_post, post-intervention assessment. Responses are 0=never, 1= almost never, 2=rarely, 3=sometimes, 4=frequently, 5=almost always.
- Question 13: oftenheadache_pre, pre-intervention assessment, oftenheadache_post, post-intervention assessment. Responses are 0=no, 1=yes. Missing values are indicated by black cells.
- Question 14: This question not part of survey for this population.
Code/software
STATA/SE 17.0 code use for data analysis of CD-RISC-10, PSS-10, and UWES-9 used for data analysis of CD-RISC-10, PSS-10, UWES-9 and Modified Nordic Questionnaire. Stata/SE 17.0 (StataCorp LLC, College Station, TX, USA) is a comprehensive statistical software package designed to handle large datasets and supports a wide range of analytical procedures, including descriptive statistics, regression modeling, survival analysis, longitudinal and panel-data analysis, multilevel modeling, and hypothesis testing.
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- not applicable
Data was derived from the following sources:
- all data was obtained from participants who provided signed informed consent prior to participating in the study
Human subjects data
All human subjects provided informed consent prior to participating in any study activities. Once data analysis was complete, all participant identifiers (name, email, and contact information) were removed from the data sets via the Safe Harbor method.
First responders, in three cohorts, completed a brief demographic questionnaire at baseline that collected information on age, gender, and years of work experience. Outcome measures for perceived stress (PSS-10), resilience (CD-RISC-10), work engagement (UWES-9), and musculoskeletal pain (mNMQ) were collected one week before participation in the MIM intervention, one week after the last day of the eight-week intervention, and again six months after completion of the MIM intervention. Mindfulness in Motion smartphone app usage, aggregated by cohort and measured over the 8-month study period, was measured as total hours of use during the study period. In addition, engagement with specific categories of MIM content was also assessed.
Participant demographics were analyzed descriptively using mean and range for age and years of experience as a first responder; gender was described as percentages. Engagement with the MIM smartphone application was monitored throughout the eight‑month study period for each of the cohorts. Engagement time was calculated using means, and app analytics were used to identify the most frequently viewed video content as well as the average number of minutes spent viewing that content across all cohorts.
To explore the association between the eight-week MIM intervention and the key outcomes of interest, perceived stress, resilience, work engagement, and musculoskeletal pain, paired samples t-tests were used (α=0.05). Effect sizes were calculated with Cohen’s d. All analyses were conducted using STATA/SE 17.0. The results were compared pre- and post- MIM intervention to detect significant differences in outcomes, with sustainability of outcomes examined 6-months post-intervention.