ABSTRACT

Depression and anxiety are common sequelae of stroke, occurring in at least one-third of patients. This study evaluated the acceptability and feasibility of providing mindfulness training (MT) to stroke survivors with the aim of reducing depression and anxiety. Following a six-week one-on-one MT course, 17 participants were interviewed. The median age of participants was 71, and 10 participants were male. This paper focuses on participants’ expectations of the MT and their views about its impact on their everyday lives. Conventional content analysis was used for coding and analysis. A single theme, Seizing rehabilitation opportunities, was captured in relation to expectations of MT, and four themes provided information relating to participants’ perceived impact of the course: Calming the mind, Reduced reactivity, Remedying physical symptoms, and Not quite there yet.

Most participants knew little about mindfulness before the MT and did not have specific goals in mind when volunteering to take part. The findings suggest that most participants considered MT beneficial through reducing stress and giving them additional skills to cope with their everyday lives. A tailored mindfulness intervention may be a useful adjunct to other rehabilitation therapies for stroke survivors.

摘要

抑郁和焦虑是中风的常见后遗症，至少有三分之一的患者会出现这种情况。本研究评估了为中风幸存者提供正念训练 (MT) 以减少抑郁和焦虑的可接受性和可行性。在为期六周的一对一 MT 课程之后，我们采访了 17 名参与者。参与者的中位年龄为 71 岁，其中 10 名参与者为男性。本文重点关注参与者对 MT 的期望以及他们对其日常生活影响的看法。常规内容分析用于编码和分析。一个主题，抓住康复机会，与 MT 的期望相关，四个主题提供了与参与者对课程的感知影响相关的信息：平静心灵,降低反应性,治疗身体症状, 并且还没有完全做到。

大多数参与者在 MT 之前对正念知之甚少，并且在自愿参加时没有明确的目标。研究结果表明，大多数参与者认为 MT 有益于减轻压力并赋予他们应对日常生活的额外技能。量身定制的正念干预可能是中风幸存者其他康复疗法的有用辅助手段。