Feasibility and Pilot Study of Implementing Mindfulness-Based Attention Training in a Pediatric Health Care Setting
Thomas B. Ayres, Seth Sonnevile, Angela Myers
Advances in Cancer Education and Quality Improvement October 23, 2026 DOI: 10.52519/aceqi.26.2.2.a16 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 48 |
| Population | Health care workers in a pediatric health care institution across a variety of job roles |
| Duration | 4-week MBAT courses; courses conducted from May 2025 through May 2026 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Participants reported strong satisfaction with a 4-week MBAT course, high relevance to their job roles, and usefulness professionally and personally. Consistent practice was the main reported challenge, though participants reported practicing on average more than 3 days a week and strong positive feelings about MBAT's impact on their lives. |
Abstract
We present herein our preliminary evidence from a pilot study of the feasibility of implementing MindfulnessBased Attention Training (MBAT) in a pediatric health care institution. MBAT has been implemented primarily in military settings, representing another high-stress work environment. Furthermore, MBAT has had favorable evaluations from being implemented with medical students. Mindfulness-based interventions have received increasing attention in health care environments. This interest from health care institutions and the focus on developing attention-based resources through MBAT created a use case for implementing MBAT. We had 5 health care workers with a variety of job roles in our institution complete a train-the-trainer course to become certified in delivering a 4-week MBAT course. From May 2025 through May 2026, we conducted 4 MBAT courses with a total of 48 participants. Evaluation results indicated strong satisfaction with MBAT and high relevance of it to job roles, and participants found it useful both professionally and personally. A key finding in MBAT research that has contributed to the positive outcomes associated with MBAT is whether participants consistently practiced MBAT. Although participants stated that consistent practice was a primary challenge, they reported completing it on average more than 3 days a week. Participants also reported strong positive feelings about the impact MBAT had on their lives. We are encouraged by these results from our pilot study. We are working to expand the MBAT program and develop mechanisms to better support participants’ ability to consistently practice what they learn.
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 |