Developing meditation practice in individuals with elevated psychological distress via a meditation app intervention: An implementation science-informed qualitative investigation of barriers and facilitators.

Depression and anxiety have worsened among American adults in recent decades. Meditation apps could help reduce these symptoms, but many users struggle to keep using them. This study interviewed 20 adults with elevated depressive or anxiety symptoms who were part of a clinical trial testing a meditation app called the Healthy Minds Program. Using an implementation science framework called the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, the researchers identified four categories: practical factors that helped users build a meditation habit, motivations for starting and sticking with practice, obstacles to developing a practice, and suggestions for improving the app. Most participants reported positive outcomes, which for some motivated continued use. Future work should examine how barriers and facilitators shift as users gain more experience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In recent decades, depression and anxiety have worsened among American adults. Meditation apps may provide an accessible route for reducing these symptoms. However, many users experience barriers to persisting in their use of these apps. Prior research has identified psychosocial and practical barriers and facilitators to the use of meditation apps, as well as barriers and facilitators related to the apps themselves. Yet few prior studies have drawn on frameworks from the highly relevant field of implementation science, such as the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. A lack of unifying implementation science frameworks has limited shared language to describe barriers and facilitators and has made it challenging to identify and account for multilevel factors impacting the implementation of meditation apps. As such, this study used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to explore the implementation of the Healthy Minds Program meditation app among users experiencing elevated depressive and/or anxiety symptoms. Participants (n = 20) were drawn from a meditation dosage clinical trial and interviewed about their experiences establishing a meditation practice using the Healthy Minds Program app. Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and deductive qualitative content analysis, four categories were generated: practical facilitators to developing a meditation practice, motivations for developing and maintaining a meditation practice, barriers to developing a meditation practice, and recommendations for improving the app. Overall, participants reported positive outcomes from their practice, which, for some, motivated their continued use of the Healthy Minds Program app. Future research should consider how barriers and facilitators may change over time with increased engagement and experience with meditation apps and practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).