Qualitative analysis of the Meals, Mindfulness, & Moving Forward (M³) lifestyle programme: Cultivating a ‘safe space’ to start on a ‘new path’ for youth with early episode psychosis

Abstract

Aim The Meals, Mindfulness, & Moving Forward (M3) programme included nutrition education, hands‐on cooking classes, mindfulness meditation practice, physical activities and facilitated group sharing. M3 was designed as a supplement to standard care for youths (age 15‐25 years) with first‐episode psychosis (FEP) who were clients of coordinated specialty care teams. M3's primary aim was feasibility by demonstrating high programme attendance; secondary aims included cardiometabolic measures. Data collection included quantitative and qualitative outcomes. The aim of the qualitative study was to understand participants' and study partners' experiences during the programme and to understand programme elements that were helpful for young people to sustain healthy lifestyle choices 6 weeks post‐programme. Methods During the last programme session, we conducted two focus groups, one with participants (n = 13) and one with their study partners (n = 11); 6 weeks post‐intervention, individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 11 participants. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed; grounded theory methods guided thematic analysis. Results Main themes from the focus groups included appreciation for a ‘non‐stigmatizing’ environment providing participants and study partners with a sense of ‘dignity’ that enabled a ‘new path’. Six weeks post‐intervention, participants reported continued use of mindfulness practice to stay grounded and assist with making healthful lifestyle changes. However, many were unsure of how to sustain these changes long‐term. Conclusion The results suggest that young people with FEP value a non‐stigmatizing space that allows for social engagement and facilitates healthy behaviours. Short‐term, M3 participants reported behaviour change but wanted on‐going support to sustain healthy behaviours.

Home practice in mindfulness-based interventions for psychosis groups: a systematic review and qualitative study

“…Quantitative Descriptive 75 41. (a) Usher et al [ 88 ] RCT NCT02398292 (b) Thompson et al [ 29 ] Qual USA Early intervention services Meals, mindfulness, and Moving forward M 3 , n = 17 ( n = 13 in qual study) TAU, n = 16 1 × 30 min session (within longer 4 h session with varied activities)/week for 12 weeks Attendance and participant experiences 3. Quantitative non-randomised 5.…”

“…We extracted qualitative data where available from the 11/43 studies included in the primary research question, categorised as either fully qualitative or mixed methods [ 18 – 21 , 23 – 29 ]. Additional searches for solely qualitative studies resulted in an additional 6 relevant papers being identified (Additional file 1 : Fig.…”

Considering Self-Care in High School Home Economics Education with the Aid of Scoping Reviews of Mindfulness and Cooking and of Mindfulness and Knitting

“…Among the 12 articles, almost half (n = 5) [40][41][42][43][44] of the retrieved articles have illustrated cooking classes as part of a self-care or mindfulness programme; however, mindfulness was not clearly incorporated into the cooking classes. These studies embraced the idea of teaching kitchens [40][41][42].…”

“…Thompson and his team [44] have also adopted a similar programme called the Meals, Mindfulness and Moving Forward (M3) lifestyle programme, which involves the same content but aims to achieve different psychological outcomes, such as self-efficacy and resilience through self-care activities. Cooking was coded to the same psychological themes as mindfulness, mainly self-efficacy and behavioural changes, even though mindfulness was coded to most psychological themes.…”