The use of mindfulness-based interventions in stroke rehabilitation: A scoping review.

Abstract

Purpose/Objective: There is emerging evidence for the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to improve health outcomes in the context of stroke rehabilitation. This scoping review identified recently available evidence and possible research gaps regarding how MBIs affect psychological and physical rehabilitation outcomes in individuals poststroke. Research Method/Design: Electronic searches were performed using the four major databases, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Sixteen studies out of a total of 404 relevant studies met the selection criteria for inclusion in this review. Results: Our findings indicate diverse results on the benefits of MBIs in individuals poststroke across a range of rehabilitative outcomes. For instance, significant improvements in mental fatigue, cognition, and quality of life were observed for most of the studies while the outcomes for mood and physical functioning were mixed. Conclusions/Implications: The available evidence lends qualified support to the view that mindfulness has the potential to be a therapeutic intervention that offers health benefits to individuals poststroke. Yet, the diversity of results highlights the need for a more rigorous examination in further research. We also identified several knowledge gaps in mindfulness research in the stroke population, such as the limited amount of evidence for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), inadequate evaluations of physical outcomes, and the lack of methodologically robust trials. Further investigations are warranted to strengthen the evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of MBIs.

In-person and online mixed method non-randomised studies exploring feasibility and acceptability of HEADS: UP, an adapted Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme for stroke survivors experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression

“…77 years median; IQR 67-85 [44]), and well educated. Mind-body practices such as yoga and mindfulness typically attract younger, well-educated adults, predominantly female [15,45,46]. In study 2, in which we used only online recruitment methods, we extended the recruitment catchment area to include participants from across the UK; however, as people from diverse ethnic minority communities and from areas of socioeconomic deprivation were not adequately represented in our sample, in future work, in collaboration with equality and diversity specialists, and relevant NGOs we will further develop the recruitment strategy to ensure greater representativeness.…”

“…Following stroke, systematic review evidence indicates MBSR may be bene cial across a range of outcomes including depression and anxiety [14]. A recent scoping review found mixed evidence regarding mindfulness interventions as effective psychological interventions poststroke and indicated that further research is warranted [15].…”

The effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy during poststroke rehabilitation: a randomized controlled trial

“…Over the past two decades, several studies have examined the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) in improving health outcomes for people with various diseases [9], including stroke [10,11]. Mindfulnessbased approaches, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) [12] and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) [13], focus on accepting the facts of reality in adaptively coping with difficulties [12,13].…”

“…distress, depression, anxiety, fatigue, quality of life, well-being, mindfulness, sleep quality, and styles of coping) and physical outcomes (i.e. pain, blood pressure, and heart rate), including cardiovascular disease [15], cancer [16], chronic pain [17], diabetes [18], fibromyalgia [19], multiple sclerosis [20,21], traumatic brain injury [22,23], and stroke [10,11].…”

“…Of the 13 studies that assessed mood (e.g. depression and anxiety), five reported that MBIs had significant improvement in mood, six studies found no significant effects, and two studies did not report relevant comparisons between groups [11]. It must be noted that most of the studies had small sample sizes and varied training protocols, but none were conducted in an inpatient rehabilitation setting.…”