Impact of a Brief Mindfulness Intervention on Psychiatric Consult Patients’ Symptoms
Jennifer Kim Penberthy
Psychological Disorders and Research June 25, 2018 DOI: 10.31487/j.pdr.2018.10.005 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Psychiatric consultation-liaison inpatients |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | A brief nurse-delivered mindfulness intervention for psychiatric consult patients was associated with significant pre-to-post improvements in self-reported anxiety, stress, uncomfortable thoughts, and pain, while low mood, restlessness, and body tension did not improve significantly. The authors discuss possible reasons for these mixed findings. |
Abstract
Psychiatric patients in the hospital suffer from stressors and challenges that may contribute to their hospitalization. They also suffer additional stressors related to being an inpatient. The psychiatric consultation liaison service of a hospital or health system is designed to respond to patients when stressors have accumulated, and patients are deemed to be at risk or when patients are suspected of having a psychiatric condition. This service provides necessary evaluation and treatment of patients who are acutely distressed, and often the focus is on diagnosing and stabilizing the patient and keeping them safe. Due to time constraints on medical residents, there is often no time for a professional to implement an appropriate and effective therapeutic intervention in the moment. We developed and conducted pilot testing of a brief mindfulness intervention for psychiatric consult patients that could be ordered by the consultation liaison physician or team and be implemented immediately by a trained nurse. This intervention consisted of offering a range of guided mindfulness techniques to the patient in real time response to patients and evaluated the impact on symptoms pre-and post-intervention. Results demonstrate significant improvements in self-reported anxiety, stress, uncomfortable thoughts, and pain after the intervention. Other symptoms of low mood, restlessness, and body tension were not significantly improved post intervention. We briefly discuss the intervention, its impact and potential reasons for the mixed findings
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
Cites 3
- Effects of Brief and Sham Mindfulness Meditation on Mood and Cardiovascular Variables The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine July 28, 2010
- Mindfulness and psychological process. Emotion February 1, 2010
- How do mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction improve mental health and wellbeing? A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies. Clinical Psychology Review April 1, 2015