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. 2023 Jul 18:16:2735-2745.
doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S414553. eCollection 2023.

Effect of the Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Anxiety and Depression Status of COVID-19 Patients Treated in Fangcang Hospitals: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Haowei Li #  1 , Hao Chen #  2   3 , Zifeng Ye  4 , Xuehang Li  1 , Lei Yang  1   5 , Shengshu Wang  1 , Shanshan Yang  6 , Shaohua Liu  1 , Shimin Chen  1 , Rongrong Li  1 , Junhan Yang  1   3 , Huaihao Li  1 , Yinghui Bao  1 , Yueting Shi  1   3 , Jianhua Wang  1 , Yao He  1   7 , Miao Liu  3
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Effect of the Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Anxiety and Depression Status of COVID-19 Patients Treated in Fangcang Hospitals: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Haowei Li et al. Psychol Res Behav Manag. .

Abstract

Background: As the focal point of epidemic prevention and control, the mental health of COVID-19 patients cannot be ignored. Online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) allows for the provision of conveniently accessible, effective and low-cost interventions on a large scale. We aim to evaluate the effectiveness of an online MBSR intervention in alleviating anxiety and depression among asymptomatic/mild patients limited by COVID-19-related restrictions.

Methods: Fifty-eight patients treated in Sanya Fangcang hospital were randomly allocated to either to the experimental group (n = 29) following daily, for 5 days, an online-based mindfulness intervention or to the control group (n = 29). Patients from both groups underwent online questionnaires including assessment of anxiety and depression status at pre- and post-tests using Self-rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale.

Results: After the online-based MBSR program, the anxiety and depression scores of the patients in the MBSR group decreased significantly in comparison to the scores of those in the control group (respectively η2 = 0.175, η2 = 0.215, p < 0.001). And the proportion of severe anxiety and depression patients in the MBSR group decreased to 0% which lower than the control group, and the proportion of light anxiety and depression patients was significantly more than that in the control group after the MBSR intervention.

Conclusion: The online-based MBSR intervention appears to be an effective way of alleviating anxiety and depression symptoms among COVID-19 patients with associated quarantine in Fangcang hospital. Given the seriousness of mental health threat that could be posed by this ongoing pandemic, our study provides a new idea and method for cost-effective and time-efficient interventions in the future of epidemic prevention and control.

Keywords: COVID-19 patients; anxiety; depression; online mindfulness; psychological intervention.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of study participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The distribution of participants in the different levels for both the MBSR and control groups at pre- and post-tests.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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