Global advances in integrative medicine and health
January 1, 2024
Kavita K Mishra, Ivan C Leung, Maria T Chao et al.
5 citations
Mindfulness-based group medical visits (MB-GMVs) delivered via telehealth are a feasible and acceptable way to increase access to mindfulness-based interventions for racially and ethnically diverse patients undergoing cancer treatment. In a quality improvement project, 80% of referred patients enrolled; 90% attended at least three of four weekly sessions. Participants were 22% Asian, 14% Black, 17% Latino, and 45% non-Latino White; 65% were female; median age was 54; and 80% had metastatic cancer. On final evaluations, 87% rated the series as excellent, 81% strongly agreed they liked the group medical visit format, and 92% would definitely recommend it. Qualitative themes included empowerment and connectedness.
Journal of pain research
January 1, 2025
Wolf E Mehling, Carrie E Brintz, Wendy Hartogensis et al.
4 citations
A modified mindfulness program for chronic low back pain, called Mindfulness-Based Pain Reduction (MBPR), was developed and tested in 58 patients. The curriculum added mindful interoceptive exposure to pain, pain neuroscience education, and yoga postures for low back pain. Participants attended 80% of sessions, and two-thirds of those receiving MBPR showed clinically meaningful improvements in pain intensity and interference scores (PEG scores improved >30%). The program was feasible and acceptable, warranting further testing in a randomized controlled trial.
Global advances in integrative medicine and health
January 1, 2025
Dorothy T Chiu, Forest Fein, Ariana Thompson-Lastad et al.
2 citations
Integrating a mindfulness elective into a year-long job training program for diverse, low-income emerging adults improved mindfulness, life satisfaction, and self-compassion while reducing stress. Over two years, 195 participants (mean age 22.3, 94.4% from racially and ethnically minoritized groups) took the elective. In Year 1, mindfulness participants showed greater mindfulness (+8.4) and life satisfaction (+10.3) and lower stress (-8.2); controls showed no changes. In Year 2, both 12-week and 6-week groups improved in mindfulness, life satisfaction, self-compassion, connectedness, and mind-body connection, with larger gains in the longer course. Focus groups confirmed that the elective supported self-care, health, and professional development, suggesting such integration can promote mental health equity.
Global advances in integrative medicine and health
January 1, 2024
Frederick M Hecht, Rebecca S Crane, Patricia Moran et al.
2 citations
Teaching quality in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) courses, measured by the Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Teaching Assessment Criteria (MBI:TAC), shows fair to good inter-rater reliability depending on the number of raters. Using a single rater, reliability was fair (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.33–0.56 across six domains); with three raters, reliability was good (0.6–0.8). Among 152 MBSR students, anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep, and social role function improved from before the course to two and four months later (improvements of 2.3 to 6.3 points). Higher MBI:TAC ratings predicted greater anxiety reduction: each one-unit increase in composite teaching rating was associated with a 0.31-point greater decrease in anxiety score. No significant relationships were found for other health domains.
PloS one
January 1, 2024
Wolf E Mehling, Irina A Strigo, Veronica Goldman et al.
A 2-minute mindful attention exercise guided by a smartphone app, repeated several times daily for 8 weeks, helped people with chronic low back pain. Pain intensity dropped from 4.8 to 3.1 on a 0-10 scale, and a combined measure of pain intensity and interference (PEG score) improved from 13.7 to 8.4. Twenty-one of 29 participants had at least a 30% improvement in PEG score. Participants reported becoming aware of their usual avoidance of pain, were surprised that pain sensations varied over time, and found that focusing on pain reduced its threat. Many described pain in 3D shapes with changing colors, temperature, and density. The approach may be a beneficial alternative to ignoring or distracting from pain.