The authors tested the efficacy of a mind/body wellness intervention for older adults with chronic illness. They randomly assigned 243 physician-referred patients from an urban HMO to a classroom intervention or a wait-list control group. The intervention provided instruction on mind/body relationships; relaxation training; cognitive restructuring; problem-solving; communication; and behavioral treatment for insomnia, nutrition, and exercise. At posttreatment, the intervention group had significant decreases in self-reported sleep difficulties, pain, anxiety, and depression symptoms compared with controls. The intervention also led to a significant decrease in "chance" and "powerful others" health locus of control beliefs. At 1-year follow-up, the intervention group maintained benefits in sleep and health locus of control and also reported a significant increase in health behaviors compared with controls. Pain, anxiety, and depression benefits were not maintained. This type of classroom intervention appears to have some lasting effects on health behaviors and beliefs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.