Abstract
Introduction: Chronic pain is a common, multifactorial condition and pharmacological treatments have limited benefits. Mindfulness is a holistic approach that might be of value in the management of chronic pain. However, attrition rates from mindfulness-based interventions are high and factors affecting engagement are unknown. The aim of this study was to inform the design of a mindfulness programme that would be accessible and acceptable for people with chronic pain. Methods: Interpretative phenomenological analysis of interview data from people with chronic pain who had taken part in an 8-week mindfulness programme based on mindfulness-based stress reduction revealed factors affecting engagement with and suggestions for tailoring the programme. Factors were grouped into physical, psychological and social domains. Further suggestions for tailoring the programme to address these factors were generated through a nominal group of healthcare professionals and a focus group with service users who had chronic pain. Findings: Physical factors included disability and discomfort with some practices; psychological factors included expectations of the mindfulness programme and understanding the relationship between mindfulness and pain; and social factors included loneliness and support from others. The proposed modifications to the mindfulness programme supported by healthcare professionals and/or service users to address these are described in this paper. Public Contribution: This study involved public contributions at a number of stages. The University of Aberdeen Division of Applied Health Sciences Service User Group (who were members of the public with chronic pain) was involved in the design of the study. Patients with chronic pain recruited from general medical practice who took part in the mindfulness programme were interviewed on their experience of the programme. Patients with chronic pain who attended the mindfulness programme, and healthcare professionals with expertise in chronic pain and/or mindfulness, attended meetings to design a tailored mindfulness programme for people with chronic pain.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1287-1307 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Journal | Health Expectations |
| Volume | 26 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 12 Mar 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding informationNHS Highland R&D Endowment fund
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request
Funding
The authors would like to acknowledge the qualitative researcher Gerry King who gave guidance in qualitative interviewing, NHS clinical psychologist Sheelagh Rodgers who conducted the preprogramme interviews and facilitated the mindfulness programme and Marianna Schultz who co-facilitated the mindfulness programme. They would like to thank the NRS Primary Care Research Network who conducted the computer searches of patient records, and GPs of Tweeddale and Glen Mor Medical Practices in Fort William who conducted screening for patient eligibility. They would also like to thank Hazel Riley for the time spent transcribing the interview recordings. They thank the chronic pain and mindfulness professionals who took part in the nominal group meeting: Alastair Wilson, Lucy Gamble, Lars Williams, Neil Rothwell, Rachel Atherton, Susanne Cruikshank and Stewart Mercer. The authors would like to thank Simon Watkins who gave support with the graphic figures. They would like to give special thanks to the participants who took part in the mindfulness programme, interviews and focus-group meeting. And lastly, they would like to thank the NHS Highland R&D Committee who awarded an endowment fund to support the running of the study.
Keywords
- barriers and facilitators to engagement
- chronic pain management
- consensus techniques
- mindfulness
- psychological approaches
- qualitative methods
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
