Meditation Group Research Articles

Increased wakefulness as measured by the WAKE-16 is related to mindfulness and emotional self-regulation in experienced Buddhist meditators.

We tested and validated the German version of a new instrument for measuring "wakefulness," defined as "an expansive, higher-functioning, and stable state of being in which a person's vision of and relationship to the world are transformed, along with their subjective experience, their sense of identity and their conceptual outlook" (Taylor, 2017, p. 22). In order to test the construct validity of the new instrument (Inventory of Secular/Spiritual Wakefulness; WAKE-16), we performed a parametric comparison between a group of expert meditators (n=36) with a history of predominantly meditating in silence and demographically matched non-meditators (n=36) for the WAKE-16 and two conceptually related questionnaires of mindfulness and emotion regulation. Significantly higher scores for the meditators on the WAKE-16 indicate construct validity of the new instrument. Meditators scored higher on the two mindfulness subscales "presence" and "acceptance," as well as on the SEE subscales of emotion regulation and body-related symbolization of emotions. Within the group of meditators, there were significant correlations between wakefulness and mindfulness, accepting one's own emotions, and experiencing overwhelming emotions. The only significant correlation in non-meditators was found between wakefulness and accepting one's own emotions. The new instrument shows construct validity by discriminating between the two groups. Correlations between wakefulness and related psychological constructs indicate convergent validity. Future studies could attempt to increase discriminatory accuracy of the definition of wakefulness, as well as finding objective methods of measuring.

Harmony In Gestures: The Psychological Influence Of Well-Being On Corporate Nonverbal Communication

As we all know each and every employee is an important part of any organization and no matter the work or the position, every employee has their own importance and can affect the organization. The behaviours of any person or employee can be vary due to many reasons. Some of the most common reasons are leadership, work culture, personal life, job responsibility. A human has no control over these the situation and conditions which can cause them stress and can affect their behaviour and work which can directly have a huge impact on company. The company can also be called as second home for any employee as they spend most of the time in the company or doing company’s work. The behaviour is directly linked by the mental health of any person. So, the companies have to start prioritizing the mental health of the employee’s so that they can give their best to the company. Many companies have come up with the campaign, giving personal space for rest, meditation room, free meditation group course, yoga classes, snacks. These things might sound small but can left a huge impact on anyone. Google, EY, Nike, Apple, HBO, and many more are in list which are focusing on mental and physical wellbeing of the employee. The study has tried to cover the significance of mental health in organization. The steps now-a-days organization are taking to deal with it and how companies are evolving and changing their role from leader to empath, Hr to Counsellor and how companies are coming with the different idea of to deal with this situation.

An 18-month meditation training selectively improves psychological well-being in older adults: A secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.

As the world population is ageing, it is vital to understand how older adults can maintain and deepen their psychological well-being as they are confronted with the unique challenges of ageing in a complex world. Theoretical work has highlighted the promising role of intentional mental training such as meditation practice for enhancing human flourishing. However, meditation-based randomised controlled trials in older adults are lacking. We aimed to investigate the effects of meditation training on psychological well-being in older adults. This study presents a secondary analysis of the Age-Well trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02977819), which randomised 137 healthy older adults (age range: 65 to 84 years) to an 18-month meditation training, an active comparator (English language training), or a passive control. Well-being was measured at baseline, mid-intervention, and 18-month post-randomisation using the Psychological Well-being Scale (PWBS), the World Health Organisation's Quality of Life (QoL) Assessment psychological subscale, and composite scores reflecting the meditation-based well-being dimensions of awareness, connection, insight, and a global score comprising the average of these meditation-based dimensions. The 18-month meditation training was superior to English training on changes in the global score (0.54 [95% CI: 0.26, 0.82], p = 0.0002) and the subscales of awareness, connection, insight, and superior to no-intervention only on changes in the global score (0.54 [95% CI: 0.26, 0.82], p = 0.0002) and awareness. Between-group differences in psychological QoL in favour of meditation did not remain significant after adjusting for multiple comparisons. There were no between-group differences in PWBS total score. Within the meditation group, psychological QoL, awareness, insight, and the global score increased significantly from baseline to 18-month post-randomisation. The longest randomised meditation training conducted to date enhanced a global composite score reflecting the meditation-based well-being dimensions of awareness, connection, and insight in older adults. Future research is needed to delineate the cognitive, affective, and behavioural factors that predict responsiveness to meditation and thus help refine the development of tailored meditation training.

Characterizing EEG signals of meditative states using persistent homology and Hodge spectral entropy

We present a novel topological characterization of EEG time series signals associated with two meditative states: autobiographical self-reflection and mantra-based meditation. The results demonstrate significant information geometric differences among the two groups of meditators and the control group for two brain regions, namely anterior frontal (AF) and temporoparietal (TP). The analysis involves global topological invariants and persistent homology features of the point cloud data constructed from the EEG time series using Takens’s embedding. While traditional EEG analyses face the well-known issues of noise and artefacts, the persistent homology approach is robust to them due to its emphasis on the overall topological changes rather than the transient structures. We analyse the characteristics of the Betti areas, peak location of Betti curves, persistent entropy, persistent amplitude and Hodge spectral entropy of the meditative states for up to the second homology dimension. We find that the mantra- based meditative state is rich in persistent features compared to autobiographical self-reflection. Also, the entropic measures indicate reduced chaotic dynamics and enhanced topological structure formation for the former. Moreover, the correlation of Hodge spectral entropy with persistent entropy or Betti area in a group is a key feature in differentiating the TP and AF channels. These topological features can be used to classify the meditative states with more than 95% accuracy.

Can an apophatic meditation promote long‐term adjustment in hope? A time‐series model of centering meditation

AbstractThe authors investigate the effects of centering meditation on state hope among college and graduate students through a randomized controlled trial. Participants (n = 150; 65% white, 84% female) were randomized to either a centering meditation group or a waitlist control group. Time‐series analyses indicated that centering meditation significantly improved hope, suggesting long‐term dynamic adjustment, compared to a control group. Specifically, the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) procedures indicated that the treatment group exhibited a statistically significant upward trend in hope, ARIMA (1, 1, 0). As expected, the control group's levels of hope were stationary, ARIMA (1, 0, 1). The study highlights the potential benefits of centering meditation as an evidence‐based counseling intervention for improving hope in the college population.

Effect of Hatha Yoga and meditation on academic stress in medical students—Clinical trial

IntroductionMedical students use to deal with high levels of academic stress. Hatha yoga and meditation have been found to reduce variables associated with stress. Objective: To evaluate and compare the effect of Hatha yoga and meditation on academic stress in medical students at a private university in Cali, Colombia. Methods and materialsA total of 27 volunteers were randomly divided into two groups: Hatha Yoga(n = 13) and Meditation (n = 14). Each group undertook two weekly one-hour sessions for 14 weeks. Study outcomes were salivary cortisol and perceived academic stress. Anthropometric and clinical variables were additionally measured as characteristics of the study sample. Perceived academic stress was estimated via a structured questionnaire. An intra-group analysis was also conducted to compare the outcomes at baseline and post-intervention within the groups. ResultsAt baseline demographic, clinical, and anthropometric variables were similar between the intervention groups. After the intervention, no differences were found between meditation and hatha yoga groups in salivary cortisol measures (time 0, 15, 30, 45 min, and mean of the 4 measures) and perceived academic stress. However, the intra-group analysis showed that only in Hatha yoga there was a significant increase in cortisol measures and improvement in the scale of perceived academic stress. ConclusionBased on the intra-group but not between-group comparisons of outcomes at baseline and post-intervention, Hatha yoga reduced perceived academic stress despite a concomitant significant increase in cortisol levels. Further trials with larger samples of medical students should be conducted to contrast our findings.

Past Life Meditation Decreases Existential Death Anxiety and Increases Meaning in Life among Individuals Who Believe in the Paranormal

Abstract Despite their growing popularity, little is known about the psychological effects of participating in past-life meditation groups in contemporary western contexts. We conducted a study to re-create some of the conditions observed in the field by facilitating a group of adults interested in exploring past life meditation. Before the session, participants completed a survey about their afterlife beliefs and associated experiences. Participants also completed questionnaires measuring meaningfulness in life and fear of death before and after the session. In the sample (n = 125), just over half of the participants (52%) reported having a past life memory or vision during the session. Higher paranormal beliefs predicted reporting a past life memory or vision. We also found that having prior memories or visions of having lived before, but not the general belief in having a past life, predicted reporting having past life experiences during the session. Consistent with our predictions, participants who reported having a past life memory or vision also reported reduced existential death distress and increased meaningfulness in life following the session, compared to those who did not report these experiences.

Group meditation, addressing stigma, and "mental health days": Recommendations for integrating self-awareness practices into genetic counseling graduate programs.

Genetic counseling graduate programs provide a rigorous curriculum comprised of coursework encompassing counseling and medical genetics, fieldwork, and research experience. Students face similar emotional and mental demands as practicing genetic counselors while also experiencing stressors commonly associated with graduate study. Increased self-awareness may help combat these stressors. This mixed-methods study surveyed 154 genetic counseling graduate students to determine the types of self-awareness practices they would like to have included in their graduate training and surveyed 11 program faculty regarding the feasibility of implementing these practices. The students' most preferred practices were self-reflection (n = 73, 47.4%), support from peers, colleagues, and/or supervisors (n = 71, 46.1%), and mental health counseling (n = 71, 46.1%). Analysis of responses to open-ended questions capturing students' recommendations for programs yielded six recurrent themes: (1) Consistent, Structured Practice with Accountability, (2) Emphasis on Mental Health, (3) Practical Techniques, (4) Access to Resources, (5) Encouragement and Support, and (6) Barriers to Implementation. Many students suggested that programs should incorporate repetitive exercises that could be implemented on a schedule with an emphasis on consistency (Theme 1). Students also emphasized the importance of providing exposure to multiple examples of self-awareness practices, so they could find an approach that was most beneficial on an individual basis (Theme 3). These findings were shared with program faculty via a presentation at the Association for Genetic Counseling Program Directors annual meeting, and attendees were subsequently surveyed regarding self-awareness practices currently integrated into their curriculum, as well as the feasibility and likelihood of integrating new practices. Program faculty respondents indicated that most of the recommended practices were included in their curriculum already or would be feasible and likely to incorporate. These results provide insight into the attitudes of genetic counseling students toward structured practice in self-awareness and how genetic counseling graduate programs might integrate such practices into the curriculum.

A randomized controlled trial on the effects and acceptability of individual mindfulness techniques – meditation and yoga – on anxiety and depression in people with Parkinson’s disease: a study protocol

BackgroundBetween 40 and 50% of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience anxiety and depression, associated with impaired physical function, high care dependency and mortality. Recently, the United States National Institutes of Health has urged the implementation of mindfulness practices in chronic illness care. Most research to date has examined the effects on chronically ill patients of complex interventions using a combination of mindfulness techniques. In PD patients, however, such complex modalities appear to hinder the technique mastery. Hence, the aim of this trial is to investigate the effects and underlying mechanism of individual mindfulness techniques among PD patients, as well as exploring participants’ experience in using individual mindfulness techniques as a lifestyle intervention for stress and symptom management.MethodsWe will conduct an assessor-blind three-arm randomized waitlist-controlled trial with a descriptive qualitative evaluation. Up to 168 PD patients will be recruited from community settings and out-patient clinics, and randomized to meditation, yoga, or usual care group. Meditation and yoga sessions of 90-minute are held weekly for 8 weeks. Primary outcomes include anxiety and depression. Secondary outcomes include PD-related motor and non-motor symptoms and quality-of-life; and level of mindfulness and biomarkers of stress and inflammatory responses will be measured as mediating variables. All outcome evaluations will be assessed at baseline, 8 weeks, and 24 weeks. Following the intention-to-treat principle, generalized estimating equation models and path analysis will be used to identify the treatment effects and the mediating mechanisms. A subsample of 30 participants from each intervention group will be invited for qualitative interviews.DiscussionThe study would also generate important insights to enhance the patients’ adaptation to debilitating disease. More specifically, symptom management and stress adaptation are highly prioritized healthcare agenda in managing PD. The research evidence will further inform the development of community-based, nurse-led compassionate care models for neurodegenerative conditions, which is complementary to existing health services.Trial registrationWHO Primary Registry – Chinese Clinical Trials Registry number: ChiCTR2100045939; registered on 2021/04/29 (https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=125878).

Feasibility of Integrating MEditatioN inTO heaRt Disease (the MENTOR Study): A Phase II Randomized Controlled Trial.

Comorbid depression and/or anxiety symptoms occur in 25% of patients attending cardiac rehabilitation (CR) programs and are associated with poorer prognosis. There is a need to evaluate psychological interventions, including meditation, that have potential to improve psychological health in CR programs. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility and acceptability of integrating a meditation intervention into an existing Australian CR program for the reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms. This was a mixed-methods feasibility randomized controlled trial. Thirty-one patients with CVD and, at a minimum, mild depression and/or anxiety symptoms were randomized to meditation and standard CR or to standard CR alone. A 16-minute guided group meditation was delivered face-to-face once a week for 6 weeks, with daily self-guided meditation practice between sessions. Feasibility outcomes included screening, recruitment, and retention. Semistructured interviews of patients' (n = 10) and health professionals' (n = 18) perspectives of intervention participation and delivery were undertaken to assess acceptability. Between-group differences in depression, anxiety, stress, self-efficacy for mindfulness, and health status at 6 and 12 weeks were also assessed. Meditation was considered feasible, with 83% (12/15) of the intervention group completing an average of 3.13 (SD, 2.56) out of 6 group meditation sessions and 5.28 (SD, 8.50) self-guided sessions. Meditation was considered acceptable by patients, clinicians, and health managers. Between-group differences in the number of CR sessions completed favored the intervention group in per-protocol analyses (intervention group vs control group, 12 vs 9 sessions; P = .014), which suggests that meditation may be useful to improve patients' adherence to exercise-based CR program.

Talk and Meditation Group for Autistic Women Who Have Experienced Trauma

Talk and Meditation Group for Autistic Women Who Have Experienced Trauma

The effect of a 7‐day intensive Buddhist meditation on existential isolation, interpersonal isolation, and compassion among South Koreans

AbstractThis study investigates the effects of an intensive Buddhist (Zen) meditation practice on reductions in existential isolation and increases in prosocial behavior. This study also examines whether the hypothesized reduction in existential isolation resulting from the intensive meditation practice predicts other‐focused compassion. Study 1 utilized a quasi‐experimental design to investigate the effects of meditation on existential isolation and other compassion by comparing healthy Koreans who completed a 7‐day intensive silent Zen meditation (n = 35) with those who completed a 7‐day vacation (n = 30). All participants completed measures twice: at baseline and after either their meditation retreat or their vacation. Study 2 used a longitudinal design to investigate whether Study 1 findings would replicate among 75 new TempleStay program participants. In Study 1, relative to participants in the vacation group, participants in the meditation group experienced reduced existential isolation and increased other‐focused compassion from Time 1 to Time 2. Reductions in existential isolation mediated the increases in other‐focused compassion. In Study 2, after a 1‐week intensive meditation training, participants experienced a reduction in existential isolation and an increased in other‐focused compassion; again, the reductions in existential isolation mediated increases in other‐focused compassion. Across two studies, we found evidence of reduced existential isolation and increased other‐focused compassion following an intensive Zen‐meditation practice. These results indicate that meditation practice may help people who suffer from existential isolation, as well as the people with whom they interact.

Home-Based Buddhist Walking Meditation Mitigates Cardiotoxicity of Anthracycline Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To investigate the effect of walking meditation on vascular function, aerobic fitness, and quality of life in breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline chemotherapy and compare with the nonexercising control group. Methods: Patients aged 40-60 years with newly diagnosed, histologically confirmed resected stage I-II breast cancer were studied in a parallel randomized controlled trial. The participants were randomly assigned to either the nonexercising control group (n = 15) or the Buddhist walking meditation group (n = 15). All participants received four cycles of anthracycline chemotherapy every 3 weeks starting at 2 weeks before the start of the exercise intervention. The walking meditation group performed home-based mindfulness walking exercises at a moderate exercise intensity for 30 min/session, 3 times/week for 12 weeks. The primary outcome measures were vascular reactivity (flow-mediated dilation [FMD]) and arterial stiffness (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity [baPWV]). Results: Eleven participants from each group completed the entire study. Analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated that FMD and peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) decreased in both groups after the initiation of anthracycline chemotherapy (all p < 0.05). After the exercise intervention, FMD, VO2peak, peak stroke volume, and peak cardiac output remained lower in the controls, but improved in the walking meditation group (all p < 0.05). baPWV increased in the control group, while no such change was observed in the walking meditation group. There were no significant changes in blood cortisol, malondialdehyde, and interleukin-6 concentrations in both groups. Overall quality of life decreased after 2 weeks of anthracycline chemotherapy in both groups (all p < 0.05). However, the walking meditation group improved many of these symptoms significantly (all p < 0.05), while no such changes were observed in the control group. Conclusions: Buddhist walking meditation exercise was effective in mitigating cardiotoxicity of anthracycline chemotherapy on vascular function, aerobic fitness, and quality of life in breast cancer patients. Clinical trial registration number: NCT02676531.

Songs of the Desert Wind: A Musical Improvisation and Meditation Performance

This is a performance score developed by a violinist/mindfulness meditation teacher. It outlines a guided group meditation performed with live, improvisational music. Field recordings of natural environments are included, simulating mindful listening as a way to raise environmental awareness.

Mindful Text Comprehension: Meditation Training Improves Reading Comprehension of Meditation Novices

ObjectivesResearch on the effects of meditation practice on reading performance is a new and promising field of research. However, the evidence on whether meditation improves reading comprehension and/or speed in continuous reading is inconclusive. The present work addresses this question.MethodFor the present longitudinal study, undergraduate students (n = 52) participated in a 6-week mindfulness meditation course or an active control condition. We assessed reading comprehension and speed before and after the intervention/control condition, as well as emotion regulation, sustained attention, and personality traits.ResultsReading comprehension improved significantly after the meditation intervention (B = 2.15, t = 3.47, p = 0.002, d = 0.69), but reading speed did not change, contrary to our expectations. The control group showed no significant changes in either text comprehension or reading speed. Further, we found that meditation led to better attention capacity. Improved attention was positively associated with improved reading comprehension in the meditation group, though attention capacity did not mediate the effect on text comprehension. While we found that meditation can increase the acceptance of one’s own emotions and decrease emotional overload, these covariates did not affect comprehension performance.ConclusionsThe present work shows that mindfulness meditation improves attention capacity and text comprehension. However, mindfulness meditation does not affect reading speed. Finally, we confirmed that meditation can help in emotion regulation.PreregistrationThis study is not preregistered.

Outcomes and experiences of an online Balance-Space music therapy intervention for cancer patients: A mixed methods study

Coping with cancer requires both physical and emotional fortitude, and various intervention programs attempt to address these needs. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many interventions have transitioned from live to online settings. Balance-Space is a music therapy intervention, which includes listening to original composed music, followed by an open discussion. Participants with a cancer diagnosis were randomized to either an online group music listening intervention or an online group meditation intervention. Both activities were followed by a group discussion led by two music therapists. A mixed methods study was employed and included both quantitative measurements of distress, anxiety, and pain and a qualitative analysis of the group discussion in the music intervention group. We found a significant reduction in participants’ perceived pain levels following the music intervention when compared to the meditation intervention. This result was supported by qualitative content analysis, which revealed how music evoked physical reactions and affected the participants' experience of pain. There were no significant differences in participants’ perceived distress levels and perceived anxiety levels between the two groups. These preliminary results are encouraging and support the need for further exploration of online music therapy interventions as a non-pharmacological treatment for cancer patients.

Feasibility of a meditation intervention for stroke survivors and informal caregivers: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundDepressive symptoms are a significant psychological complication of stroke, impacting both survivors and informal caregivers of survivors. Randomized controlled trials are needed to determine optimal non-pharmacological strategies to prevent or ameliorate depressive symptoms in stroke survivors and their informal caregivers.MethodsA prospective, randomized, parallel-group, single-center, feasibility study. Participants were assigned to a 4-week meditation intervention or expressive writing control group. The intervention comprised four facilitator-led group meditation sessions, one session per week and building upon prior session(s). Descriptive statistics were used to examine the proportion of eligible individuals who enrolled, retention and adherence rates, and the proportion of questionnaires completed. Data were collected at baseline, immediately after the 4-week intervention period, and 4 and 8 weeks after the intervention period. Secondary analysis tested for changes in symptoms of depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression [CES-D]), anxiety [State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Adults (STAI)], and pain (Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form) in the intervention group via paired t tests. Linear mixed models were used to compare longitudinal changes in the measures between the groups. Intervention and trial design acceptability were preliminary explored.ResultsSeventy-one (77%) individuals enrolled and 26 (37%) completed the study (baseline and 8-week post-intervention visits completed). Forty-two (66%) participants completed baseline and immediate post-intervention visits. Mean questionnaire completion rate was 95%. The median meditation group session attendance rate for the intervention group was 75.0%, and the mean attendance rate was 55%. Non-significant reductions in CES-D scores were found. Paired t tests for stroke survivors indicated a significant reduction from baseline through week 8 in BPI-sf severity scores (p = 0.0270). Repeated measures analysis with linear mixed models for informal caregivers indicated a significant reduction in in STAI-Trait scores (F [3,16.2] = 3.28, p = 0.0479) and paired t test showed a significant reduction from baseline to week 4 in STAI-Trait scores (mean = − 9.1250, 95% CI [− 16.8060 to 1.4440], p = 0.0262). No between-group differences were found.ConclusionsFuture trials will require strategies to optimize retention and adherence before definitive efficacy testing of the meditation intervention.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03239132. Registration date: 03/08/2017

Alteration of faecal microbiota balance related to long-term deep meditation

BackgroundAdvancements in research have confirmed that gut microbiota can influence health through the microbiota–gut–brain axis. Meditation, as an inner mental exercise, can positively impact the regulation of an individual’s physical...

Immediate Effects of OM Meditation on Heart Rate Variability as a Stress Index During Different Phases of Menstruation: A Quasi-Experimental Pilot Study

Introduction: Stress alters normal reproductive function, causing menstrual disorders up to infertility in females. Psychological stress is the most common lifestyle factor found to be associated with menstrual disorders among late adolescence and young adults. Yoga-based OM-meditation has been shown to reduce stress, but its effect on managing stress during different phases of menstruation in young females is not known. Aim: To evaluate if short-term practice of OM-meditation could induce a beneficial modulation in Heart-Rate Variability (HRV), a measure of stress index during various phases of the menstrual cycle in young females. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 20 healthy young females with a normal menstrual cycle, aged between 18-25 years, and pursuing a medicine course at Shri BM Patil Medical College, Karnataka, India, from March 2020 to December 2021. Meditation group participants (n=10) practiced OM-meditation, while control group participants (n=10) relaxed quietly for 10 minutes. Each subject received an intervention thrice during the menstrual, proliferative, and secretory phases. Data was collected before and immediately after every intervention. Body Mass Index (BMI), Blood Pressure (BP), Heart Rate (HR), and HRV were measured. Distribution of data, within-group and betweengroup analysis was done. ANCOVA (Analysis of covariance) was used to determine the differences between groups. Results: Total 20 participants, n=10 in each, Meditation and control group, mean age of participants was 19.2±0.79 and 19.3±0.82 years, and the mean period of MC was 31.1±2.76 and 30.3±2.4 days in the meditation and control groups, respectively. There was no change in the baseline values of BMI, BP, and HR between the two groups, and they were within the normal range. Between-group analysis (ANCOVA) of HRV spectrum showed that OM-meditation had significantly decreased the LowFrequency (LF) component of HRV (p&lt;0.05) and LF/HF ratio (p&lt;0.05), and increased the High-Frequency (HF) component (p&lt;0.05) of HRV during all three phases of MC. Conclusion: The practice of OM-meditation for 10 minutes reduced sympathetic activity and shifted autonomic balance towards parasympathetic dominance. These changes suggest that OM-meditation can reduce mental stress and optimise autonomic regulation during different phases of MC. However, this needs evaluation in a larger trial.

A Brief Measure of Fidelity for Mindfulness Programs: Development and Evaluation of the Concise Fidelity for Mindfulness-Based Interventions Tool.

Mindfulness research and clinical programs are widespread, and it is important that mindfulness-based interventions are delivered with fidelity, or as intended, across settings. The MBI:TAC is a comprehensive system for assessing teacher competence, yet it can be complex to implement. A standardized, simple fidelity/engagement tool to address treatment delivery is needed. We describe the development, evaluation, and outcomes of a brief, practical tool for assessing fidelity and engagement in online mindfulness-based programs. The tool contains questions about session elements such as meditation guidance and group discussion, and questions about participant engagement and technology-based barriers to engagement. The fidelity rating tool was developed and tested in OPTIMUM, Optimizing Pain Treatment in Medical settings Using Mindfulness. The OPTIMUM study is a 3-site pragmatic randomized trial of group medical visits and adapted mindfulness-based stress reduction for primary care patients with chronic low back pain, delivered online. Two trained study personnel independently rated 26 recorded OPTIMUM sessions to determine inter-rater reliability of the Concise Fidelity for Mindfulness-Based Interventions (CoFi-MBI) tool. Trained raters also completed the CoFi-MBI for 105 sessions. Raters provided qualitative data via optional open text fields within the tool. Inter-rater agreement was 77-100% for presence of key session components, and 69-88% for Likert ratings of participant engagement and challenges related to technology, with discrepancies only occurring within 2 categories: 'very much' and 'quite a bit'. Key session components occurred as intended in 94-100% of the 105 sessions, and participant engagement was rated as 'very much' or 'quite a bit' in 95% of the sessions. Qualitative analysis of rater comments revealed themes related to engagement challenges and technology failures. The CoFi-MBI provides a practical way to assess basic adherence to online delivery of mindfulness session elements, participant engagement, and extent of technology obstacles. Optional text can guide strategies to improve engagement and reduce technology barriers.