Data from: Mindfulness online: a preliminary evaluation of the feasibility of a web-based mindfulness course and the impact on stress

OBJECTIVES: Stress has been shown to have a number of negative effects on health over time. Mindfulness interventions have been shown to decrease perceived stress but access to interventions is limited. Therefore, the effectiveness of an online mindfulness course for perceived stress was investigated. DESIGN: A preliminary evaluation of an online mindfulness course. PARTICIPANTS: This sample consisted of 100 self-referrals to the online course. The average age of participants was 48 years and 74% were women. INTERVENTIONS: The online programme consisted of modules taken from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and lasted for approximately 6 weeks. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) before the course, after the course and at 1-month follow-up. Completion of formal (eg, body scan, mindful movement) and informal (eg, mindful meal, noticing) mindfulness activities was self-reported each week. RESULTS: Participation in the online mindfulness course significantly reduced perceived stress upon completion and remained stable at follow-up. The pre-post effect size was equivalent to levels found in other class-based mindfulness programmes. Furthermore, people who had higher PSS scores before the course reported engaging in significantly more mindfulness practice, which was in turn associated with greater decreases in PSS. CONCLUSIONS: Because perceived stress significantly decreased with such limited exposure to mindfulness, there are implications for the accessibility of mindfulness therapies online. Future research needs to evaluate other health outcomes for which face-to-face mindfulness therapies have been shown to help, such as anxiety and depressive symptoms.

研究目的：长期以来，压力已被证实会对健康产生诸多负面影响。正念干预虽已被证实可降低感知到的压力，但此类干预的获取途径仍较为有限。因此，本研究针对一门在线正念课程在缓解感知压力方面的有效性展开了探究。
研究设计：对一门在线正念课程开展初步评估。
研究对象：本研究样本包含100名自主报名参与该在线课程的受试者，受试者平均年龄为48岁，其中女性占比74%。
干预措施：该在线课程模块源自正念减压疗法（Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction）与正念认知疗法（Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy），课程周期约为6周。
主要与次要结局指标：受试者分别在课程开始前、课程结束后以及1个月随访时完成感知压力量表（Perceived Stress Scale, PSS）测评；此外，受试者每周需自主报告其完成正式正念练习（如身体扫描、正念运动）与非正式正念练习（如正念用餐、觉知当下）的情况。
研究结果：参与该在线正念课程后，受试者的感知压力水平显著降低，且该改善效果在随访阶段保持稳定；课程前后的效应量与其他线下课堂式正念课程的效应量相当。此外，课程开始前PSS得分更高的受试者，报告的正念练习时长显著更长，而更长的练习时长又与PSS得分更大幅度的降低相关。
研究结论：鉴于仅通过有限时长的正念练习即可显著降低感知压力，本研究结果对在线正念疗法的可及性具有参考意义。未来研究需评估线下正念疗法已被证实有效的其他健康结局，如焦虑与抑郁症状。