Improving patient-centered mental health promotion in primary care in vulnerable communities through mindfulness training in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Débora Silva Teixeira, Sandra Fortes, Celia Kestenberg, Kali Alves, Mônica Rodrigues Campos, Alfredo Oliveira Neto, Francisco Ortega, Javier García-campayo, Marcelo Demarzo
Frontiers in Medicine 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1356040 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pre-post mixed-methods study Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 62 |
| Population | Low-income adults, mostly women aged 30-59, under regular care in Brazilian primary health care (SUS) |
| Intervention | Mindfulness Based Health Promotion (MBHP) |
| Duration | 8-week intervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Mental health promotion Primary care Public health Vulnerable populations |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based health promotion significantly reduced anxiety and depression and improved quality of life among low-income primary care patients in Brazil. |
Abstract
Brazilian Primary Health Care (PHC) is responsible for all-sanitary actions for a community-based population, including health promotion and mental health care. Mindfulness Based Health Promotion (MBHP) is an intervention that can promote self-care and psychosocial support in PHC. To discuss the effects of mindfulness based psychosocial group interventions for health promotion in primary care units in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The intervention was based on the MBHP model adapted for SUS. Nine groups were held in Rio de Janeiro. A quali-quanti research was held with two parts: (a) quantitative study, pre and after the 8 weeks intervention, evaluating the effect on mindfulness and self-compassion and their association with levels of anxiety, depression, and quality of life. (b) Qualitative research using Focus Groups with the participants to investigate their experience at the end of the mindfulness groups. Sixty-two participants finished the 9 groups where 86% were women, mostly between 30 and 59 years of age and low income, and around 80% under regular medical care in PHC in SUS. In the studied sample 80% had at least one chronic health condition under treatment, including 42% with anxiety and 35% with depression. The effects included significant improvement in Anxiety and Depression and in Quality of Life, mainly in the psychological but also in the physical and interrelation domains. The qualitative study showed that most patients joined the group on the recommendation of health professionals for managing physical and mental health symptoms. Patients reported being able to use the practices taught in the sessions to manage symptoms such as insomnia and emotionally distressing situations in their daily lives. Including family members in mindfulness practices was a strategy to negotiate not only a space at home to meditate, but also to obtain a different approach to health problems. Participants pointed to mindfulness as a complementary therapeutic option to medication and psychotherapy. Mindfulness-Based Intervention have shown to be a feasible, well-accepted and efficacious method of offering psychosocial support and promoting well-being for low-income patients in primary care in LAMIC.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Rethinking Practice in Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Theoretical Model of How Formal Practice, Informal Practice, Practice Quality, and Dispositional Mindfulness Interact Over Time Qeios September 30, 2026
- Mindfulness in the Brazilian National Health System (SUS): Why Training Instructors Is Not Expensive but Strategic and Cost-Effective Qeios August 31, 2026
- Easing the burden: a pilot study on the impact of mindfulness on the mental health of Brazilian medical students. BMC Medical Education August 1, 2025
- Rethinking Practice in Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Developmental Theoretical Model Integrating Formal Practice, Informal Practice, Practice Quality, and Dispositional Mindfulness
Cites 10
- Individual participant data systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials assessing adult mindfulness-based programmes for mental health promotion in non-clinical settings. Nature Mental Health July 10, 2023
- The Effectiveness of Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Interventions for Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia: A Meta-Analysis The Gerontologist March 2, 2018
- The effect of mindfulness group therapy on a broad range of psychiatric symptoms: A randomised controlled trial in primary health care European Psychiatry February 8, 2017
- Mindfulness Training for Primary Care for Portuguese-Speaking Immigrants: A Pilot Study Frontiers in Psychiatry September 9, 2021
- The woman who chose the terreiro. Lay care and medical landscapes in mental health care in Rio de Janeiro. Anthropology & medicine December 1, 2022
and 5 more in the library