Comparison of face-to-face and online mindfulness-based public health interventions for older adults

Abstract

BackgroundCoping with everyday stress, maintaining well-being and building up personal competencies is essential to handle today's way of living. Additionally, the actual COVID-19 pandemic also impacted the overall health of global population because of reduced social contact and other epidemiological measures. The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of two different approaches in conducting mindfulness-based public health interventions focused on quality of life and mental health of older adults as well as their ability to self-manage their health.MethodsIn total, 450 participants aged 65 years and older will participate in the study. Participants will be residents living in the city of Rijeka and the wider urban area consisting of six local municipalities. All engaged participants will be divided into three groups: face-to-face intervention group, online intervention group and control group. Older adults engaged in the face-to-face and online mindfulness-based intervention will participate in a seven-week workshop program base on two existing evidence-based programs: Mindfulness-based Living Programme and The Chronic Disease Self-Management Programme. The study is based on a pre-post-test design which will assess the effectiveness of public health interventions on self-efficacy in health management, social support, stress, depression, sleep, fatigue, medication use, and quality of life.ResultsResearch results will provide insight into the difference in effectiveness between two forms of implementation of public health interventions, which can be important in defining health policies regarding quality of life, mental health and health self-management of older adults.ConclusionsThis study will enable policy makers in defining future public health interventions and their adaptation to various epidemiological situations such as the one caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Key messages Mindfulness is known as an efficient tool in maintaining personal well-being.Mindfulness can be an effective tool for improving mental health and resilience even during the COVID-19 pandemic.