The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Primary Care: A Meta-Analytic Review

Abstract

PURPOSE Positive effects have been reported after mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in diverse clinical and nonclinical populations. Primary care is a key health care setting for addressing common chronic conditions, and an effective MBI designed for this setting could benefit countless people worldwide. Metaanalyses of MBIs have become popular, but little is known about their efficacy in primary care. Our aim was to investigate the application and efficacy of MBIs that address primary care patients. METHODSWe performed a meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials addressing the effect of MBIs in adult patients recruited from primary care settings. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses) and Cochrane guidelines were followed. Effect sizes were calculated with the Hedges g in random effects models. RESULTSThe meta-analyses were based on 6 trials having a total of 553 patients. The overall effect size of MBI compared with a control condition for improving general health was moderate (g = 0.48; P = .002), with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 59; P <.05). We found no indication of publication bias in the overall estimates. MBIs were efficacious for improving mental health (g = 0.56; P = .007), with a high heterogeneity (I 2 = 78; P <.01), and for improving quality of life (g = 0.29; P = .002), with a low heterogeneity (I 2 = 0; P >.05).CONCLUSIONS Although the number of randomized controlled trials applying MBIs in primary care is still limited, our results suggest that these interventions are promising for the mental health and quality of life of primary care patients. We discuss innovative approaches for implementing MBIs, such as complex intervention and stepped care.

Improving Communication between Physicians and Their Patients through Mindfulness and Compassion-Based Strategies: A Narrative Review

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“…Overall, mindfulness techniques have proved to be successful in the treatment of a wide array of physical, psychosomatic, and psychosocial dysfunctions [34,35,36,37], and there is a growing body of research demonstrating the effectiveness of mindfulness and compassion-based meditation practices for reducing the physical and psychological effects of stress among health care workers [38,39]. …”

Are acceptance and mindfulness‐based interventions ‘value for money’? Evidence from a systematic literature review

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Stress and the psyche–brain–immune network in psychiatric diseases based on psychoneuroendocrineimmunology: a concise review

“…Over the last decades, meditation practice has spread in Western countries as a safe and efficacious remedy to counteract distress. Evidence on the efficacy of mindfulness‐based interventions (MBIs) for management of psychological health, both in medical and psychiatric patients, as well as in healthy subjects, has been growing. Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy (MBCT), incorporating cognitive strategies into the theoretical and practical framework of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR), is recommended as an adjunctive treatment for unipolar depression, since it has been found effective in reducing current episodes of depression and relapse of the disease …”