A resilience intervention involving mindfulness training for transplant patients and their caregivers.
Solid organ and stem cell transplant patients and their caregivers report a substantial level of distress. Mindfulness-based stress reduction has been shown to alleviate distress associated with transplant, but there is limited experience in this population with other mindfulness-based interventions, or with combined transplant patient and caregiver interventions. We evaluated a novel, 6-week mindfulness-based resilience training (MBRT) class for transplant patients and their caregivers that incorporates mindfulness practice, yoga, and neuroscience of stress and resilience. Thirty-one heart, liver, kidney/pancreas, and stem cell transplant patients and 18 caregivers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona participated. Measures of stress, resilience, depression, anxiety, health-related quality of life, positive and negative affect, and sleep were completed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 3 months postintervention. At 6 weeks and 3 months, patients demonstrated significant (P<.005) improvements from baseline in measures of perceived stress, depression, anxiety, and negative affect. Quality-of-life mental component (P=.006) and positive affect (P=.02) also improved at follow-up. Most participants adhered to the program, were satisfied with class length and frequency, and reported improved well-being as a result of the class. MBRT holds promise as an intervention to enhance resilience and manage stress for transplant patients and their caregivers.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA. stonnington.cynthia@mayo.edu.
Cynthia M
CM
Stonnington
Private Practice, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Betty
B
Darby
Private Practice, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Angela
A
Santucci
Consultant, New Haven, CT, USA.
Pamela
P
Mulligan
Department of Social Work, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Patricia
P
Pathuis
Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
Andrea
A
Cuc
Department of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
Joseph G
JG
Hentz
Department of Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
Nan
N
Zhang
Section of Transplantation and Immunology, Department of Surgery, Yale-New Haven Hospital Transplantation Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
David
D
Mulligan
Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Amit
A
Sood
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064866:Mindfulness / Q000379:methods*; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015013:Yoga
caregivers; mindfulness; resilience; stress; transplant recipients