JMIR Formative Research
November 28, 2023
George Danias, Jacob Appel
13 citations
Interest in psilocybin and psychedelic therapy, measured by Google search volume, increased at higher rates after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared than before it. Searches for depression, anxiety, and addiction also rose during the pandemic. After an initial drop in searches for most terms when the pandemic began, interest in psilocybin and psychedelic therapy grew steadily and surpassed pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, interest in antidepressants returned to pre-pandemic levels without exceeding them. The findings suggest that public interest in psychedelic treatments may be linked to rising mental health concerns, but could also be driven by media coverage and novelty.
JMIR Formative Research
October 5, 2022
Muskan Yadav, Sandra L Neate, Craig Hassed et al.
8 citations
Participants in an online mindfulness course who completed at least 90% of the program reported that a virtual community, appealing content, enablers like free access and variety, and noticeable benefits to physical and mental well-being helped them finish the course and apply its teachings. Novel findings included growing together as a group, repeating the course, evidence-based teaching, and immediate well-being improvements. These elements may guide the design of future digital health interventions to support positive behavior change.
JMIR Formative Research
January 30, 2024
Caeleigh A Landry, Hugh C Mccall, Janine D Beahm et al.
7 citations
Public safety personnel (PSP) such as police and firefighters face high risks of mental disorders and barriers to traditional treatments. The PSP Wellbeing Course, an internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) program, was supplemented with five mindfulness meditations. Among 40 enrolled clients, 68% used the meditations, averaging 4.8 minutes per week. Clients who completed the course showed statistically significant improvements in anxiety, depression, PTSD, and anger, but not insomnia. Self-reported meditation time did not predict symptom changes. Interviews revealed benefits alongside challenges like discomfort sitting with feelings. Clients suggested better integration, optional use, and shorter meditations. The study demonstrates partial feasibility of adding mindfulness to iCBT for PSP.
JMIR Formative Research
August 16, 2023
Grant Jones, Felipe Herrmann, Matthew K. Nock
7 citations
A digital music-based mindfulness intervention significantly reduced race-based anxiety in middle-to-low-income Black Americans. The web-based study used a nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design with five participants and featured contributions from a meditation teacher and a former presidential speechwriter. State anxiety decreased substantially after the intervention, with Tau-U effect sizes ranging from -0.75 to -0.38. Feasibility and acceptability were high, with participants rating their likelihood of recommending the intervention at 98 out of 100 on average. The intervention was designed to overcome common barriers to mindfulness treatments for Black Americans, such as high costs, time commitments, and limited cultural relevance.
JMIR Formative Research
July 17, 2025
Satish Jaiswal, Jason Nan, Seth Dizon et al.
5 citations
A pilot study tested a parent-child digital mindfulness and compassion training app called Cooperative Compassion (CoCo) with 24 families. After 30 sessions over three months, the program was feasible, with 80% of families completing most sessions. Children showed no significant improvement in depression scores but did demonstrate faster processing on an emotion task. Parents experienced significant reductions in stress, anxiety, and depression that lasted at three months, and their mindfulness gains correlated with stress relief. Brain recordings during a breathing task revealed reduced default mode network activity after training, suggesting less mind-wandering and better focus. The results support larger, randomized trials.
JMIR Formative Research
May 6, 2024
Kaitlyn Delaney Chappell, Diana Meakins, Melanie Marsh-Joyal et al.
5 citations
Adults with inflammatory bowel disease and self-reported anxiety or depression were offered an 8-week virtual mindfulness-based stress reduction program led by psychiatrists. Of 64 referred patients, 16 agreed to participate; the most common reason for declining was lack of time. Seven of the 16 participants completed the program. Completers experienced decreased anxiety and depression symptoms and increased health-related quality of life, with improvements persisting at 6-month follow-up. Participants reported better coping strategies and disease management. The intervention was acceptable to those who finished it, but the time commitment may be too high for many patients with IBD.
JMIR Formative Research
December 3, 2024
Mary L Peng, Joan Monin, Polina Ovchinnikova et al.
4 citations
Viewing psychedelic art—vibrant, distorted, and patterned imagery—produced a greater intensity and variety of emotional, mental, and physical effects than viewing natural scenery. In a pilot trial, 102 participants aged 18 to 35 were randomly assigned to watch either 300 seconds of psychedelic art or 300 seconds of scenic imagery. Qualitative analysis of open-ended survey responses showed that psychedelic art evoked relaxation, peace, anxiety relief, joy, euphoria, awe, a hypnotizing and meditative effect, creative thoughts, heightened bodily awareness, and sometimes initial overstimulation that shifted to calmness. These preliminary findings suggest psychedelic art may support healing and well-being, with potential applications in mental health care and digital health tools.
JMIR Formative Research
June 11, 2025
Tovan Lew, Natnaiel M Dubale, Erik Doose et al.
3 citations
Undergraduate students who used the Calm mindfulness app for 30 days showed reduced state anxiety, stress, and improved sleep quality compared to a control group. In the treatment group (37 students), state anxiety averaged 12 (SD 7.8) versus 14 (SD 7.4) in controls, state stress averaged 15 (SD 8.5) versus 20 (SD 8.8), and sleep quality scores averaged 6.4 (SD 3.5) versus 7.7 (SD 2.7). Perceived stress was also lower in the treatment group. The pilot findings suggest that a mindfulness app may help reduce anxiety and stress and enhance sleep quality among undergraduates, though a larger trial is needed to confirm.
JMIR Formative Research
March 11, 2025
Mollie R Cummins, Julia Ivanova, Hiral Soni et al.
3 citations
In the postpandemic era, telemental health providers report high comfort prescribing via telemedicine, with 84% strongly agreeing they are comfortable prescribing medications. However, comfort decreases for patients never seen in person or located out-of-state. Most providers believe they can safely prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without prior in-person care, though 14.8% to 19.1% (by schedule) feel they can rarely or never do so safely. Perceived safety is lowest for schedule IV medications and highest for schedules II and III. Differences in comfort and safety perceptions exist by licensure type and specialty. Providers use adaptive strategies to ensure safe prescribing based on clinical context.
JMIR Formative Research
January 24, 2025
Lia Antico, Judson A. Brewer
2 citations
A short digital mindfulness training program, designed with clinician input and delivered via podcast or app, reduced cynicism—a key component of burnout—by 33% in two pilot studies with physicians and nurse practitioners. Anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, personal distress, and sleep disturbances also decreased, while self-compassion and mindfulness improved. No changes were observed for depression, perspective taking, or empathic concern. The findings suggest that this brief, digital mindfulness training can be a practical tool for alleviating burnout and anxiety among physicians.
JMIR Formative Research
March 4, 2024
Grant Jones, Felipe Herrmann, Adam Bear et al.
2 citations
In a group of people who recently used psychedelics, increases in mindfulness were followed by improvements in well-being. The findings suggest that mindfulness may be a mechanism through which psychedelic experiences lead to positive mental health outcomes.
JMIR Formative Research
October 15, 2024
Morghane Aubert, Céline Clavel, Christine Le Scanff et al.
1 citation
A web-based mindfulness intervention with five short sessions (5–10 minutes each) was designed to holistically improve lifestyle habits. In 32 participants who completed the 12-week program, decreases in negative affect, anxiety, and emotional distress were observed, along with an increase in dispositional mindfulness. However, no effect was found on reported healthy eating or physical activity habits. Few participants repeated the exercises as recommended. Most participants were new to mindfulness and reported satisfaction with the sessions, though one session on resisting unhealthy foods was considered too strict by a third of participants, suggesting a need for reformulation.
JMIR Formative Research
July 25, 2024
Ioannis Iliakis, Maria Anagnostouli, George P Chrousos
1 citation
A 31-year-old woman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis practiced a mindfulness-based body scan technique daily before bedtime. Compared to baseline, the intervention improved both sleep quality and overall quality of life according to subjective questionnaires and objective biometric data from an electronic portable device. Biometric data revealed a notable dissociation between daily stress levels and sleep quality during the intervention period. Although self-report instruments indicated significant improvement, potential biases were noted. The single-case study suggests the technique may help manage sleep disturbances and enhance quality of life in MS, but larger-scale investigation is needed.
JMIR Formative Research
November 24, 2023
Grant Jones, Franchesca Castro-Ramirez, Maha Al-Suwaidi et al.
A brief, digital, music-based mindfulness intervention called 'healing attempt' reduced state anxiety and increased mindfulness and self-compassion in four Black American adults with elevated race-based anxiety and little-to-no meditation experience. In a series of single-case experiments conducted via Zoom, the intervention showed high feasibility and acceptability, with an average likelihood of recommending it of 88 out of 100. The findings suggest that such a low-cost, culturally adaptable approach may help address barriers to mental health care in this population, though further trials are needed to test lasting effects.
JMIR Formative Research
June 12, 2026
Clare Tsz Kiu Yu, Alex Pak Lik Tsang, Kelly Ka Yu Chan et al.
An 8-week group-based mindfulness intervention delivered in a CAVE virtual reality environment was feasible and acceptable for adolescents with mild-to-moderate anxiety in Hong Kong. Attendance was high, with no dropouts or adverse events. No significant changes were found in self-reported distress, anxiety, depression, stress, or trait mindfulness. However, significant improvements in heart rate variability indices—standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals and root-mean-square of successive differences—suggest preliminary enhancements in physiological stress regulation. Qualitative feedback indicated perceived benefits in emotional regulation, stress reduction, focus, and sleep, with the immersive environment and group format as key facilitators.
JMIR Formative Research
September 30, 2025
Yan Ma, Peter M Wayne, Janet M Mullington et al.
A pilot study tested the feasibility of a 4-week bedtime mindfulness meditation program guided by a smartphone app for people with chronic insomnia. Of 13 participants recruited, 10 completed the protocol (77% retention). Completion rates for physiological and psychometric data exceeded 90%, and app use compliance was 91%. Preliminary analysis showed improvements in sleep quality (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index change -3.7), insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index change -4.5), and presleep arousal (Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale change -7.7). Qualitative interviews revealed benefits including decreased catastrophizing, acceptance, body awareness, and relaxation. The hybrid in-lab and at-home study design was deemed feasible and acceptable for future research.
JMIR Formative Research
August 28, 2023
Marcus Rodriguez, Tory A Eisenlohr-Moul, Jared Weisman et al.
Adding brief weekly support from trained volunteer peer counselors to a four-week internet-based mindfulness intervention improved treatment engagement and mental health outcomes among Chinese university students with at least mild stress, anxiety, or depression. Participants receiving peer support were more likely to complete posttreatment assessments (59% vs 26%) and completed a higher percentage of the course (72.6% vs 50.7%). Both groups showed significant pre-post improvements in mindfulness, depression, anxiety, and stress, but the peer-supported group reported greater reductions in daily stress and depression. The authors propose that task-shifting mental health support to nonspecialists can make scalable, low-cost internet interventions more effective.
JMIR Formative Research
June 9, 2022
Sarah Lynn, Julia C. Basso
No Summary
JMIR Formative Research
November 14, 2021
Thaddeus W. W. Pace, Katharine H. Zeiders, S. Cook et al.
A pilot test of a smartphone-based meditation app with 35 professional firefighters found that the 10-day self-guided program was feasible and acceptable. After using the app, firefighters showed significant reductions in anxiety, burnout, and negative affect, along with changes in waking cortisol levels, an objective marker of stress biology. The app, developed by Healthy Minds Innovations, included practices for mindfulness, connection, insight, and purpose. The authors call for further research to confirm the app's efficacy in reducing psychological distress and burnout among firefighters.
JMIR Formative Research
October 19, 2021
Jeremy L Smith, Jason W Allen, Carla I Haack et al.
App-delivered mindfulness meditation improved sleep impairment in physician assistant (PA) students but did not significantly affect burnout, depression, or anxiety. In a randomized wait-list-controlled trial, PA students who used the 10% Happier meditation app daily for 8 weeks reported a 19% reduction in sleep impairment, compared with a 1% reduction in the control group. Changes in sleep were linked to increased resting-state functional connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal gyrus, as well as areas important for working memory. Connectivity changes predicted conversion from impaired to nonimpaired sleep in the mindfulness group.
JMIR Formative Research
May 25, 2021
Venkatesan, Aarathi, Krymis, Holly, Scharff, Jenny et al.
A 10-week digital mindfulness-based stress reduction program that combined an app with weekly one-on-one remote health-coach sessions was associated with significant reductions in perceived stress. Among 229 participants with moderate-to-high stress, average stress scores dropped by 3.17 points by week 6 and 4.86 points by week 12. By week 12, 83.2% of completers showed reduced stress, 40.5% showed reliable improvement, and 47.8% moved to a lower stress category. At 6 months, 61% of those assessed showed reliable improvement. More completed lessons increased the likelihood of moving down a stress category. The findings suggest such blended digital interventions may support meaningful, sustained stress reduction.
JMIR Formative Research
September 23, 2020
Kim P Norman, Anita Govindjee, Seth R Norman et al.
An online intervention combining mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral therapy and narrative therapy with peer support groups and asynchronous discussions was tested among 16 combat veterans and military sexual trauma survivors. Natural language processing (NLP) analysis of participants' narrative writings and online postings detected significant decreases in fear, anxiety, sadness, and disgust, and increases in joy. Shifts in personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism), personal values and needs (closeness, helping others), and increases in authenticity and confidence were observed. The authors suggest NLP can provide valuable insights into treatment progress not captured by subjective symptom measures.