Stress reduction for paid home care aides: A feasibility study of mindfulness meditation and Tai Chi interventions.

Evidence of effective self-care strategies to support Home Care Aides' (HCAs) mental health is limited. This study compares the feasibility of implementing one of two non-clinical, evidence-based stress-reduction treatments: mindful awareness practices (MAPs) meditation versus Korean-style Tai Chi. Program effectiveness was assessed on a range of self-reported health and mental health quantitative outcomes at three time-points. Both groups showed statistically significant improvements in depression, insomnia, and negative affect during the six weeks (all p. <0.05), but only the MAPs group demonstrated a sustained improvement in negative affect at three-month follow-up (p. <0.05). At three-month follow-up, 55% of Tai Chi participants continued practicing learned techniques, compared to 75% of MAPs participants. MAPs were found to be more practical and amenable to integration in daily life compared to Tai Chi. Showing positive results on both feasibility and effectiveness assessment, MAPs were chosen over Tai Chi to be scaled as a benefit to HCAs.

Mindfulness meditation and improvement in depressive symptoms among Spanish- and English speaking adults: A randomized, controlled, comparative efficacy trial.

OBJECTIVE: Latino immigrants experience acculturative stress and increased depression risk. Mindfulness meditation improves depressive symptoms, yet the vast majority of research has focused on English speaking populations. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial with 2 parallel treatment groups, adults with moderate levels of perceived stress (n = 76) were recruited from the Los Angeles community from October 2015 to March 2016, stratified into Spanish- (n = 36) and English speaking (n = 40) language groups, and randomized for 6 weeks of treatment with standardized mindful awareness practices (MAPs) or health education (HE). Main outcome measure was depressive symptoms, measured by the Beck Depression Inventory. RESULTS: Using an intent-to-treat analysis, the primary outcome, depressive symptoms as indexed by the Beck Depression Inventory, showed greater improvement in MAPs vs. HE, with a between-group post-intervention mean difference of -2.2 (95% CI -4.4 - -0.07) and effect size of 0.28; similar effect sizes were found in the the Spanish- (0.29) and English speaking (0.30) groups. MAPs showed significant improvement relative to HE on secondary outcome of mindfulness with between group difference of 10.7 (95% CI4.5-16.9), but not perceived stress. CONCLUSION: The comparable efficacy of Spanish and English formats of mindfulness meditation in improving depressive symptoms suggests that this community based intervention may mitigate depression risk in Latino adults who are experiencing social adversity. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03545074.

Psychometric Properties of the Mexican Version of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) / Propiedades psicométricas de la versión mexicana de la escala de atención Plena (MAAS)

This study presents a translation of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) into Mexican Spanish, and examines its psychometric properties as well as its relationship with socio-demographic variables. The MAAS measures the frequency with which people experience mindful states. A sample of N = 622 healthy adult Mexicans completed the MAAS. A smaller sub-sample (n=195) completed the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), a well-known mindfulness measure, to obtain concurrent validity. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed a one-factor solution, and reliability coefficients were adequate. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed adequate goodness of fit indexes. Moreover, relationships between Mexican Spanish MAAS scores and socio-demographic variables were also explored, and differences between-groups were found in mean scores both in alcohol consumers and religious practitioners. No other significant differences between groups were found. Results suggest that the Mexican version of the MAAS is a reliable and valid instrument to use with a healthy adult Mexican sample.

Este estudio presenta una traducción de la Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Escala de Atención Plena) al español mexicano y examina sus propiedades psicométricas, así como su relación con variables sociodemográficas. La Escala de Atención Plena mide la frecuencia con la que las personas experimentan estados de atención plena. Una muestra de N=622 adultos mexicanos sanos completaron la Escala de Atención Plena. Una submuestra más pequeña (n=195) completó el Cuestionario de Cinco Facetas de la Atención Plena, el cual es una escala bien conocida de atención plena, para obtener validez concurrente. El análisis factorial exploratorio reveló una solución unifactorial y los coeficientes de confiabilidad fueron adecuados. El análisis factorial confirmatorio mostró índices adecuados de bondad de ajuste. Además, también se exploraron las relaciones entre la versión Mexicana del MAAS y variables sociodemográficas, encontrándose diferencias entre grupos tanto en consumidores de alcohol como en practicantes de religión. No se encontraron otras diferencias significativas entre grupos. Los resultados sugieren que la versión mexicana de la MAAS es un instrumento confiable y válido para utilizarse con población mexicana adulta y sana.