Identifying Therapeutic Factors in an 8-Week (30 Hour) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program

North York General Hospital135 enrolled

Overview

Since it's introduction in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has become a respected adjunct to conventional treatment for patients suffering from many diverse chronic ailments. Three decades of research have documented it's benefits, but few papers have focused on identifying which particular aspect of MBSR directly correlates with it's degree of therapeutic efficacy. This study will use 7 well validated questionnaires to compare participants responses prior to, and following completion of an eight-week MBSR program at the North York General Hospital, as well as follow-up results at 1 month and 1 year post completion of the MBSR group.

As above

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

135

Conditions

Cancer Diabetes Hypertension

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * over 18 years old * suffer from a chronic health problem * referred by their physician Exclusion Criteria: * acute illness (physical or psychiatric) * suicidal * problem use of alcohol or other substances * inability to do one hour of daily homework * inability to attend all 8 sessions

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

PSS-10

Patients' Stress Scores on the PSS-10 are used to assess self-reported perceptions of stress at baseline, at 8 weeks when the intervention ends, and again at one month and one year follow-up (to see if any change is sustained).

Time frame: baseline, 8 weeks and follow-ups at 1 month and 1 year

Secondary Outcomes

Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS)

Measure of patients' self-reported capacity for detached curiosity / decentering (aspects of mindfulness), prior to intervention, at the end of the intervention (8 weeks), and at short-term (one month)and long-term (one year) follow-up.

Time frame: Baseline, 8 weeks and follow up at 1 month and 1 year