Web-Based Mindfulness Interventions for Mental Health Treatment: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Julia Sevilla-Llewellyn-Jones, Olga Santesteban-Echarri, Ingrid Pryor, Patrick D. Mcgorry, Mario Alvarez-Jimenez
JMIR Mental Health September 25, 2018 DOI: 10.2196/10278 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review and meta-analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Clinical mental health populations, including anxiety disorder and depression disorder subgroups |
| Intervention | Web-based mindfulness interventions |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Internetinternet-based Mental health. Meta-analysis Systematic review Treatment |
| Key findings | Web-based mindfulness interventions reduced depression and anxiety and improved quality of life, functioning, and mindfulness skills in the total clinical sample and particularly in the anxiety disorder subgroup, but showed no significant effect on depression or anxiety in the depression disorder subgroup. The authors conclude the results support effectiveness while cautioning that high heterogeneity across interventions and the small number of included studies limit interpretation. |
Abstract
Web-based mindfulness interventions are increasingly delivered through the internet to treat mental health conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of web-based mindfulness interventions in clinical mental health populations. Secondary aims were to explore the impact of study variables on the effectiveness of web-based mindfulness interventions. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of web-based mindfulness interventions on clinical populations. The search strategy yielded 12 eligible studies. Web-based mindfulness interventions were effective in reducing depression in the total clinical sample (n=656 g=-0.609, P=.004) and in the anxiety disorder subgroup (n=313, g=-0.651, P<.001), but not in the depression disorder subgroup (n=251, P=.18). Similarly, web-based mindfulness interventions significantly reduced anxiety in the total clinical sample (n=756, g=-0.433, P=.004) and the anxiety disorder subgroup (n=413, g=-0.719, P<.001), but not in the depression disorder group (n=251, g=-0.213, P=.28). Finally, web-based mindfulness interventions improved quality of life and functioning in the total sample (n=591, g=0.362, P=.02) in the anxiety disorder subgroup (n=370, g=0.550, P=.02) and mindfulness skills in the total clinical sample (n=251, g=0.724, P<.001). Results support the effectiveness of web-based mindfulness interventions in reducing depression and anxiety and in enhancing quality of life and mindfulness skills, particularly in those with clinical anxiety. Results should be interpreted with caution given the high heterogeneity of web-based mindfulness interventions and the low number of studies included.
Comparable studies
Other systematic reviews and meta-analyses on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being Diverse adult clinical populations | 2014 | Meta-analysis | n = 3,515 |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis Healthy subjects | 2009 | Systematic review and meta-analysis | |
| The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Nonclinical groups of adult meditators | 2012 | Meta-analysis | n = 163 |
| Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse Adults with recurrent depression in full or partial remission | 2016 | Meta-analysis of individual patient data from randomized controlled trials | n = 1,258 |
| Mindfulness‐Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness‐Based Cognitive Therapy – a systematic review of randomized controlled trials | 2011 | Systematic review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 48
- Mindfulness-based interventions: an overall review British Medical Bulletin April 21, 2021
- A mindfulness-based mobile health (mHealth) intervention among psychologically distressed university students in quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Counseling Psychology July 15, 2021
- The efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions on mental health among university students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Public Health 2023
- Mindfulness meditation and psychedelics: potential synergies and commonalities Pharmacological Reports November 6, 2023
- Interpretability of Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Brain Processes Followed by Mindfulness Intervention in a Brain-Inspired Spiking Neural Network Architecture Sensors December 21, 2020
and 43 more in the library
Cites 16
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- Prevention of relapse/recurrence in major depression by mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2000
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
- Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in Prevention of Depressive Relapse JAMA Psychiatry April 28, 2016
- How long does a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program need to be? A review of class contact hours and effect sizes for psychological distress Journal of Clinical Psychology March 23, 2009
and 11 more in the library