How do individuals with spinal cord injury practice mindfulness? Barriers & facilitators to practicing mindfulness and considerations for tailoring programs.

Purpose: This qualitative study aims to understand how individuals with SCI experience and participate in mindfulness, including identifying barriers and facilitators to participation.

Materials and Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach following the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was implemented. Participants partook in one-on-one telephone interviews which explored their experiences with mindfulness. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo.

Results: 22 participants from the United States and Canada participated. The majority were female, between 28-67 years old. Two main themes and six sub-themes were identified. The first main theme related to perceived experiences and anticipated benefits related to practicing mindfulness (e.g. reduced muscle tension, reduced stress, social connection). Sub-themes included: physical benefits, mental benefits, social/interpersonal benefits, and mind and/or body awareness. The second main theme related to perceived barriers to practicing mindfulness (e.g. misconceptions of mindfulness, language and cues) and mitigating strategies (e.g. education, permissive rather than prescriptive language). Sub-themes included awareness and understanding of mindfulness and accessibility.

Conclusions: Our study provides evidence for content and language that could be tailored specifically for individuals with SCI, and points to the need for general education and awareness for what mindfulness is and is not.