Investment in Indian indigenous healing systems-based self-mastery and wellness programmes in organizations for efficient work culture, self-management, and wellness: A prospective longitudinal single-cohort observational study.

Prakash Chandra Panda; Soumya Tripathy; Pratyush Mishra; Suvendu Kumar Panda; Sanjeeta Nayak; Kartika Chandra Parida

doi:10.51168/9h036d06

Authors

Prakash Chandra Panda
Soumya Tripathy
Pratyush Mishra
Suvendu Kumar Panda Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Medical College and Hospital
Sanjeeta Nayak
Kartika Chandra Parida

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51168/9h036d06

Keywords:

Indian Indigenous Healing Systems, self-mastery, workplace wellness, wellness investment, self-management, workplace functioning, perceived wellbeing, WHO-5, embedded ethnocognitive practices, Indian ethnomedicine, culturally grounded wellness, workplace self-regulation

Abstract

Background:

Workplace wellness is increasingly framed within sustainable human resource management, extending beyond symptom reduction to self-management, well-being, work-related functioning, and perceived value. However, culturally grounded approaches to workplace self-mastery and perceived return from Indian Indigenous Healing Systems (IIHS) remain underexplored.

Aim:

To explore and characterize perceived wellness investment associated with participation in an Indian Indigenous Healing Systems-based Self-Mastery and Wellness Programme (IIHS-SMWP) among working professionals, with reference to self-mastery, personal wellbeing, workplace functioning and efficiency, and subjective mental wellbeing over 12 months.

Methods:

An exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach included an initial qualitative phase followed by a prospective longitudinal single-cohort observational study. Seventy working professionals from diverse sectors in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, participated in IIHS-SMWP and were followed for 12 months. Participants attended 24 programme sessions based on a common framework with participant-specific sequencing. Outcomes were assessed using a face- and construct-validated study-specific questionnaire with high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.90) and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. Within-participant comparisons used paired t-tests and repeated-measures ANOVA.

Results:

Significant longitudinal differences were observed across assessed domains. Self-mastery, awareness of and engagement with IIHS, personal well-being-return outcomes, workplace-related outcomes, and WHO-5 raw and percentage scores all also improved significantly over follow-up (p≤0.002), with partial η² ranging from 0.044 to 0.881.

Conclusion:

The findings showed longitudinal changes in self-mastery, well-being, workplace functioning, IIHS engagement, and mental well-being among IIHS-SMWP professionals. They support conceptualising wellness investment as a multidimensional construct spanning personal, functional, organisational, and cultural domains. However, observational design, lack of a control group, convenience sampling, and self-reported outcomes preclude causal attribution, therapeutic efficacy, and conclusions about productivity or financial return.

Recommendation:

Further controlled, multicentre, adequately powered studies incorporating objective measures of workplace functioning, productivity, healthcare utilisation, absenteeism, and programme-related costs are recommended to determine whether observed longitudinal changes translate into measurable organisational and economic benefits.

Author Biographies

Prakash Chandra Panda

is a Senior Researcher and Subject Matter Expert (SME) in somato-cognitive sciences, indigenous ethnohealing, and martial art lineages (TKIS). His interdisciplinary research interests include self-architecture, non-ordinary states in consciousness studies, distance healing intentional therapy, and contemplative science. He is based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Soumya Tripathy

is a Senior Researcher and Subject Matter Expert in Indic Traditional Knowledge Systems, with research interests in lineage-based ethnocognitive healing models, intangible oral traditions, and consciousness studies. The research focuses on the conceptual and experiential dimensions of indigenous and traditional knowledge systems. Soumya Tripathy is based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
Pratyush Mishra

is an Independent Researcher with research interests in integrated medicine, research philosophy, and medical ethnography. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, India.
Suvendu Kumar Panda, Maharaja Krishna Chandra Gajapati Medical College and Hospital

is an Independent Researcher with research interests in ethnopharmacology and data science applications in Indian ethnomedicine. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, India.
Sanjeeta Nayak

is a third-year Postgraduate Trainee in the Department of Biochemistry, MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, India. Her academic and research activities are associated with biochemistry and related biomedical research.
Kartika Chandra Parida

holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Biotechnology and is an Independent Researcher with research interests in ethnocultural and embodied healing practices and the theory of evidence. The research focuses on interdisciplinary perspectives related to traditional and embodied healing systems. Kartika Chandra Parida is based in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

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