A Brief Report on an 8-Week Course of Mindfulness-based Care for Chronic Pain in the Treatment of Veterans With Back Pain: Barriers Encountered to Treatment Engagement and Lessons Learned.
Erica Eaton, Hannah R Swearingen, Amin Zand Vakili, Stephanie R. Jones, Benjamin D Greenberg
Medical Care September 2020 DOI: 10.1097/mlr.0000000000001377 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Open pilot trial Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 20 |
| Population | Veterans with chronic lower back pain recruited from a VA Medical Center in the Northeastern US (mean age 49.77; 18% women) |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based care for chronic pain (MBCP) gentle yoga and psychoeducation |
| Duration | 8-week MBCP course; assessments at baseline and postintervention |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Enrolling and retaining veterans in an 8-week mindfulness-based care for chronic pain program was challenging: the average number of sessions completed was 5, and only 4 of 20 eligible participants (20%) attended all sessions. Among the 11 participants (55%) who attended 5 or more sessions and had complete data, 5 had clinically meaningful decreases in pain intensity and depressive symptoms, and 6 had meaningful decreases in pain bothersomeness and functional impairment. |
Abstract
Chronic pain and associated symptoms are debilitating for veterans. Medical costs of treatments are high and current treatment options, most notably with opioid medications, have been associated with significant risk. Mindfulness-based interventions appear promising for chronic pain, but require additional testing in veteran care settings. This project was designed to test the feasibility of engaging and retaining veterans with chronic lower back pain in a new mindfulness protocol tailored for veterans, mindfulness-based care for chronic pain (MBCP). Clinical outcomes were also assessed. An open pilot trial of an 8-week MBCP course that included meditation, gentle yoga, and psychoeducation. Twenty-two veterans (mean age=49.77; 18% women) were recruited from a VA Medical Center in the Northeastern US. After screening for inclusion/exclusion criteria, 20 were eligible at baseline. Veterans were assessed at baseline and postintervention for functional impairment, pain intensity and bothersomeness, depression, and mindfulness. The average number of sessions completed was 5; only 4 (20%) attended all sessions. Eleven of the 20 participants (55%) attended 5 or more sessions and had complete preintervention and postintervention visits. Five of the 11 had a clinically meaningful decrease in pain intensity and in depressive symptoms, while 6 of 11 had a meaningful decrease in pain bothersomeness and functional impairment. It was challenging to enroll and retain participants in this study, even with our intervention designed for veterans. We discuss possible adaptations and refinements in MBCP for veterans with chronic pain to enhance feasibility and improve upon these interventions.
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 5
- Mindfulness-based Interventions for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Clinical Journal of Pain February 1, 2024
- Effects of mindfulness meditation training offered in-person and via a virtual world on self-compassion: A study with U.S. military active duty and veterans. Work 2024
- Online mindfulness-based vs. cognitive-behavioural stress reduction for medical students: A randomized controlled trial. Psychiatry Research July 11, 2025
- Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Military Populations with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review. Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine September 1, 2024
- Feasibility of Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Veterans Managing Chronic Pain. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy September 1, 2023
Cites 23
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Conceptual and methodological issues in research on mindfulness and meditation. American Psychologist October 1, 2015
- Mindfulness Meditation for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review Substance Abuse October 1, 2009
- A PILOT STUDY OF GROUP MINDFULNESS-BASED COGNITIVE THERAPY (MBCT) FOR COMBAT VETERANS WITH POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD) Depression and Anxiety April 17, 2013
- A narrative review of yoga and mindfulness as complementary therapies for addiction. Complementary Therapies in Medicine June 1, 2013
and 18 more in the library