Effects of Dispositional Mindfulness and Mindfulness-Based Interventions on the Psychosocial Consequences of Burn Injuries: A Systematic Review.
European Burn Journal May 15, 2025 DOI: 10.3390/ebj6020025 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Cross-sectional Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Burn patients and their families, including children with burns and their caregivers |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based interventions including mindfulness meditation yoga and self-compassion training |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Burn recovery Psychological healing Trauma therapy Pain management |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | The review concludes that mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions are associated with reduced psychological symptoms, improved emotional regulation, and enhanced self-compassion in burn survivors, and may reduce anxiety and secondary trauma in children with burns and their caregivers. The authors state that long-term efficacy remains inconclusive and that mindfulness-specific effects cannot yet be distinguished from those of general physical exercise. |
Abstract
Burn injuries lead to significant physical and psychological consequences, including chronic pain, post-traumatic stress, depression, and social isolation. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been proposed as a holistic approach to address these challenges in burn rehabilitation. This systematic review evaluates the efficacy of dispositional mindfulness and MBIs, including mindfulness meditation, yoga, and self-compassion training, in managing pain, emotional distress, and psychosocial adaptation in burn survivors. A comprehensive literature search was conducted through MEDLINE and Web of Science, covering studies up to February 2025, with additional papers retrieved from Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar. Studies were included if they reported quantitative data on the effects of MBIs in burn patients and/or their families, excluding opinion pieces, editorials, reviews, and qualitative studies. After screening 91 studies retrieved from the databases and adding a compelling paper retrieved from the other sources explored, 12 studies were included in the final pool, categorized into cross-sectional studies (n = 6), and intervention studies (n = 6). The extracted data included publication year, research design, sample characteristics, intervention details, main findings, and data for quality assessment. The synthesis of the results suggests that mindfulness is associated with reduced psychological symptoms, improved emotional regulation, and enhanced self-compassion, leading to better coping strategies and social reintegration. However, the long-term efficacy of MBIs remains inconclusive, and further research is needed to differentiate mindfulness-specific effects from those of general physical exercise. Evidence also suggests that mindfulness interventions may reduce anxiety and secondary trauma in children with burns and their caregivers. This review highlights the potential of MBIs as adjuncts to conventional burn rehabilitation programs, but further high-quality trials are needed to establish their sustained efficacy and to understand the specific benefits of mindfulness.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cites 34
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations Psychological Medicine November 27, 2009
- Positive Psychological States in the Arc from Mindfulness to Self-Transcendence: Extensions of the Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory and Applications to Addiction and Chronic Pain Treatment Current Opinion in Psychology January 14, 2019
and 29 more in the library