Characterizing Interprofessional Collaboration and Referral to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Programs.
Dhanesh D Binda, Janice M Weinberg, Tra Nguyen, Natalia E. Morone
Global Advances in Health and Medicine 2022 DOI: 10.1177/2164957x221126484 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 118 |
| Population | Primary care providers at four U.S. academic medical centers (University of Pittsburgh, Piedmont Health Services, Boston Medical Center, UMass Memorial Medical Center) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Integrative medicine Interprofessional collaboration |
| Key findings | Among 118 primary care providers, 70.1% were familiar with MBSR and 59.0% of those referred patients at least yearly, but only 16.3% of referring providers reported collaborating with mindfulness instructors. Greater familiarity with MBSR and age 50 or younger were associated with higher odds of referral, while personal mindfulness practice was not. The authors argue that improved communication and education are needed to increase access to mindfulness-based programs. |
Abstract
In 2017, the American College of Physicians (ACP) designated Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), an eight-week group program, as first-line non-pharmacological treatment for chronic low back pain. However, interprofessional collaboration between mindfulness instructors and Primary Care Providers (PCP) remains largely unknown. We developed a survey to assess communication between mindfulness instructors and PCPs, identify predictors of referral to MBSR, and determine areas where interventions could increase patient access to MBSR. The 25-question survey was sent via email to PCPs at the Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, PA, the Piedmont Health Services Family Medicine Section, Chapel Hill, NC, the Boston Medical Center General Internal Medicine and Family Medicine Sections, Boston, MA, and the UMass Memorial Medical Center Family Medicine Section, Worcester, MA. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression to analyze the data. Among 118 eligible respondents, 85 (72.0%) were female PCPs, mean age was approximately 41.5±10.1, and the majority (65.2%) had been in medical practice ≤10 years. Of these PCPs, 83 (70.1%) reported familiarity with MBSR (95% CI: 62.1, 78.5), and 49 (59.0%) of them referred patients at least yearly. Of those who referred, 8 (16.3%) reported collaboration with mindfulness instructors. PCPs who were quite a bit or very much familiar with MBSR had 5.10 (1.10, 22.50) times the odds (P=.03), and those who were 50 years or younger had 3.30 times the odds (P=.04) of referring patients to MBSR. Frequency of PCPs' personal practice of mindfulness was not significantly associated with referrals (P=.30). This is the first study to assess interprofessional collaboration between mindfulness instructors and PCPs. Suggestions for a potential integrative health care model are included; further studies on methods to augment communication and education are warranted to improve the referral process and ultimately increase accessibility and utilization of mindfulness-based programs.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 11
- Association of an Educational Program in Mindful Communication With Burnout, Empathy, and Attitudes Among Primary Care Physicians JAMA September 22, 2009
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Group, One-on-One, or Internet? Preferences for Mindfulness Meditation Delivery Format and their Predictors Open Medicine Journal November 28, 2014
- Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement vs Supportive Group Therapy for Co-occurring Opioid Misuse and Chronic Pain in Primary Care JAMA Internal Medicine February 28, 2022
- The design and methods of the OPTIMUM study: A multisite pragmatic randomized clinical trial of a telehealth group mindfulness program for persons with chronic low back pain. Contemporary Clinical Trials October 2021
and 6 more in the library