Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention on Quality of Life and Craving in Methadone-treated Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
Mehdi Yaghubi, Fatemeh Zargar
Addiction & health October 1, 2018 DOI: 10.22122/ahj.v10i4.573 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 63 |
| Population | Methadone-treated patients in Qom, Iran |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) |
| Duration | 8 training sessions; assessments at baseline, 8 weeks, and two-month follow-up |
| Measures | 36-item Short Form (SF-36) Quality of Life Questionnaire, Craving Beliefs Questionnaire (CBQ) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Quality of life Craving |
| Key findings | Mindfulness-based relapse prevention significantly increased quality-of-life scores and significantly decreased craving scores compared with a no-intervention control group in methadone-treated patients, with no significant baseline difference between groups. The authors conclude that MBRP can improve psychological and physical health and reduce craving. |
Abstract
Background: Quality of life (QOL) is always considered as a final consequence of clinical trials, interventions, and health care. The results of studies indicate that addiction leads to lower QOL. However, studies have been conducted on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions on improving QOL. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) on QOL and craving in methadone-treated patients.
Methods: This study was conducted in Qom, Iran, in 2017. A sample of 70 methadone-treated patients were randomly selected and assigned to two groups (intervention and control). Participants in both groups completed the 36-item Short Form (SF-36) QOL Questionnaire and Craving Beliefs Questionnaire (CBQ) at the beginning of the study (pre-test), 8 weeks after the study (post-test), and two months after the study (follow up). In this study, the experimental group received 8 training sessions on mindfulness prevention, while the control group did not receive general information about addiction and did not receive any psychological intervention. Finally, data of 63 patients were analyzed with the SPSS software, chi-square test, t-test, and repeated-measures ANOVA.
Findings: The results of repeated-measures ANOVA showed that there was no significant difference between intervention and control groups in the pre-test, but MBRP in the intervention group significantly increased the scores of QOL and decreased the scores of craving, significantly (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: The findings of present study indicate that MBRP training can increase the psychological and physical health in dependent methadone-treated patients and decrease craving. These findings suggest that mindfulness training can be used as an effective intervention for improving QOL and reducing craving.