App-Based Mindfulness Training to Improve Sleep in People with Chronic Back Pain: A Single-Arm Feasibility Study
Jackson Linke, R. Pope, Ian W. Skinner
The Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences & Practice January 17, 2025 DOI: 10.46743/1540-580x.2482 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Single-arm feasibility study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 7 |
| Population | Australian residents aged 18 years or older with back pain for at least 12 weeks and self-reported sleep disturbance |
| Intervention | App-based mindfulness training |
| Duration | Six-week period |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Baseline acceptability of the app-based mindfulness intervention was high (15.4 out of 20), but five of seven enrolled participants did not complete the six-week study, and feedback indicated the intervention was less useful or acceptable than initial scores suggested. The authors conclude that more supportive recruitment and retention strategies are needed to determine feasibility in larger studies. |
Abstract
Background: App-based mindfulness training is a potentially effective intervention to improve sleep for people living with back pain with a considerable decrease in cost and increased accessibility when compared to other interventions. The aim of this study was to determine if app-based mindfulness training is a feasible intervention to improve sleep in people with chronic back pain.
Methods: The design was a single-arm feasibility study using repeated measures over a six-week period. Participants were Australian residents aged 18 years or older, experiencing back pain for at least 12 weeks preceding the study, and self-reported sleep disturbance. Primary outcomes were the acceptability of and adherence to the intervention. 35 participants were screened for eligibility. Seven were eligible and provided consent.
Results: Despite high acceptability of the intervention at baseline (15.4 out of 20) five of the seven participants did not complete the study, with feedback indicating they did not find the intervention as useful or acceptable as initial acceptability scores suggested they might.
Conclusion: There is a need for studies with more supportive participant recruitment and retention strategies to conclusively determine if mindfulness training is a feasible intervention to improve sleep in people with chronic back pain. Patient or Public Contribution: People living with chronic pain were participants in this study. They provided feedback on the intervention to inform future study designs on how the intervention could be tested successfully in larger populations.
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 |