Mindfulness-based training for women veterans with chronic pain: A retrospective study.
H. Okvat, Mary C Davis, Erin G. Mistretta, Aram S. Mardian
Psychological Services November 22, 2021 DOI: 10.1037/ser0000599 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Retrospective pilot study with pre-post comparisons Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 36 |
| Population | Women veterans with chronic pain and comorbid PTSD who began a mindfulness-based group program |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based |
| Duration | Eight-session program |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Women veterans who engaged in the program showed moderate-to-large improvements in pain severity, pain catastrophizing, physical functioning, depression, self-compassion, and positive affect from pre to post. |
Abstract
The majority of women veterans experience chronic pain and many have comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To enhance resilience in these veterans in terms of both physical functioning and psychosocial well-being, a mindfulness-based, trauma-informed, eight-session group pilot program was designed to target emotion regulation and social belonging. Women who engaged in treatment were asked to complete questionnaires assessing pain, functioning, and affective and social well-being before and after the program. The present retrospective research study evaluated (a) whether women who engaged in treatment showed pre-to-post treatment improvement in psychosocial and physical functioning and (b) whether women referred to the program who engaged versus did not engage in treatment differed in demographic and clinical data (i.e., pain diagnoses, mental health diagnoses, documented trauma history) obtained from medical record review. The sample consisted of 36 women who began the program and filled out a pregroup questionnaire (intent-to-treat sample; ITT) and 105 women who were referred but did not engage in treatment. The majority had a documented history of trauma, a mood disorder, and a PTSD diagnosis. ITT analyses indicated that veterans showed moderate-to-large pre-post improvements in pain severity, pain catastrophizing, physical functioning, depression, self-compassion, and positive affect. Veterans who engaged in treatment were similar to those who did not in demographics, number of pain diagnoses, and mental health diagnoses, but were more likely to have a documented history of trauma. Despite the limitations of this study, the findings are encouraging and point to the value of a future randomized controlled trial. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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 |