Digital mindfulness-based interventions can improve health outcomes but often fail because people stop using them. This scoping review of 22 qualitative studies identified three key factors affecting engagement: negative reactions to one's own practice that reduce motivation, difficulty making mindfulness a consistent habit, and reliance on others for support. The review suggests that developers should use person-based, participatory methods to improve acceptability and engagement.
A mindfulness and acceptance-based group intervention reduced depression, anxiety, and internalized stigma among adolescents with HIV in Uganda. In an open-label randomized trial with 122 participants aged 15–19, those who attended four weekly 90-minute sessions showed significantly greater decreases in depression, anxiety, and stigma compared with those receiving standard care. The intervention appears to help young people cope with the dual challenges of adolescence and HIV-related stigma, potentially improving adherence to treatment.
Higher openness to mindfulness practice leads to greater increases in state mindfulness after a brief meditation session, while understanding of mindfulness does not affect state mindfulness change. In a randomized experiment, 155 participants were assigned to either an active mindfulness meditation or a sham condition. Only those in the active condition showed significant state mindfulness increases, allowing analysis of openness and understanding. Openness significantly predicted larger gains in state mindfulness, but understanding (acceptance-based vs. control-based) did not. The findings suggest that fostering open attitudes toward mindfulness-based interventions may improve treatment outcomes, and that misconceptions about acceptance-based foundations do not reduce the effectiveness of brief meditation for eliciting mindful states.