PURPOSE To provide nurse practitioners (NPs) with clinical research about Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and demonstrate its usefulness for reducing stress in a variety of populations. DATA SOURCES A literature review was conducted using the following databases: EBSCO, Cinahl, Pschyline, and Medline. English language articles published between 2000 and 2006 in peer-reviewed journal...

Mindfulness has been defined as the process of paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental manner. In the early stages of mindfulness training, awareness of breathing is typically used as an attentional anchor to regulate ruminative thinking, but mindfulness encompasses much more than observing the breath. It derives from Buddhist practice and has been the subject of empirical in...

S. L. Shapiro and colleagues (2006) have described a testable theory of the mechanisms of mindfulness and how it affects positive change. They describe a model in which mindfulness training leads to a fundamental change in relationship to experience (reperceiving), which leads to changes in self-regulation, values clarification, cognitive and behavioral flexibility, and exposure. These four var...

BACKGROUND An increasing number of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) studies are being conducted with nonclinical populations, but very little is known about their effectiveness. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy, mechanisms of actions, and moderators of MBSR for nonclinical populations. DATA SOURCES A systematic review of studies published in English journals in Medline, CINAHL or...

OBJECTIVE This meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the mental and physical health status of various cancer patients. METHODS Ten studies (randomized-controlled trials and observational studies) were found to be eligible for meta-analysis. Individual study results were categorized into mental and physical variables and Cohen's ...

BACKGROUND Distress and burnout among medical and psychology professionals are commonly reported and have implications for the quality of patient care delivered. Already in the course of university studies, medicine and psychology students report mental distress and low life satisfaction. There is a need for interventions that promote better coping skills in students in order to prevent distres...

Background: Diabetes is a significant health problem currently and is linked to a variety of mental health issues. In order to adequately control this disease, patients must have good mental health status and methods of dealing with stress. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a technique people can use in all facets of their life for decreasing their level of mental stress. This review...

OBJECTIVE Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an increasingly popular practice demonstrated to alleviate stress and treat certain health conditions. MBSR may reduce elevated blood pressure (BP). Treatment guidelines recommend life-style modifications for BP in the prehypertensive range (systolic BP [SBP] 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic BP [DBP] 80-89 mm Hg), followed by antihypertensives if...