Authors (including presenting author) :
Yeung TYK(1), Yau SFC(1), Dr Kwok TK(2)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Occupational Therapy, Tung Wah Hospital (2)Department of Medicine, Tung Wah Hospital
Introduction :
A number of studies positively support the implementation of Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) for managing symptoms of anxiety and depression in different neurological diseases. However, little is known about MBI's effectiveness on physical and functional impact in stroke patients, as well as their quality of life(QoL). As a result, a new project related to mindfulness-based interventions was initiated in the fourth quarter of 2018. The first pilot group in total of six sessions was conducted from January 2019 to March 2019.
Objectives :
This study aims to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of delivering a new program of MBI in a community-based rehabilitation hospital- Tung Wah Hospital.
Methodology :
Participants were recruited from patients attending occupational therapy in the rehabilitation day hospital in Tung Wah Hospital. Six 1.5-2-hours MBI sessions were carried out by a certified mindfulness instructor. Initial assessments of physical, psychosocial and functional parameters were done before MBIs commenced. The same set of assessments were repeated for each participant upon training completion. Individual interviews were also arranged for evaluating qualitative outcomes.
Result & Outcome :
A total of 7 subjects were recruited into this pilot study with a mean age of 68.29 and a mean post-stroke period of 7.14 months. All of them completed the program without dropout. For the physical parameter, there was a significant improvement in Fugl-Meyer Assessment of the upper extremity (Z=-2.04, p=0.04) and Berg balance scale(Z=-2.03, p=0.042). For psychosocial parameter, significant improvement was seen in WHO-5 well-being index (Z=-2.21,p=0.03). For functional parameter, there was also a significant improvement in Modified Barthel Index (Z=-2.02, p=0.043). The current study positively supported the use of MBI in post-stroke patients especially for physical and functional parameters as well as their QoL. The current study positively supports the treatment effect of MBI on physical abilities, functional performance and QoL of post-stroke patients. Further controlled trials are suggested to investigate the treatment effectiveness of MBI compared to patients who receive conventional therapy programs.
