NCT04570826

A MEDITATION PROGRAM IN HIGH-BURDEN INFORMAL CAREGIVERS

EFFECTS OF A MEDITATION PROGRAM ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN HIGH-BURDEN INFORMAL CAREGIVERS

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 45 (actual)
• Sponsor: Consuelo Lourdes Díaz Rodríguez · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of the present study was to investigate in high burden caregivers the effects of a face-to-face meditation program during four weeks (16 hours) on physiological parameters, psychological state and vagal nerve activity comparing with a control group.

Detailed description

A non-randomized repeated-measures controlled clinical trial was conducted with convenience allocation of participants into intervention (n = 18) or control group (n = 17). Due to ethical reasons, it was not possible to randomize the patients. The investigators invited from different associations in Granada city and its province through word and mouth or by telephone to 45 volunteer informal caregivers. 40 of them enrolled in this study but only 37 finalized the program, 24.3% male and 75.7% female with a mean (SD) age of 44.03 (7.30) years. The people that have previous experience in mind body practices or cardiovascular diseases were excluded. All the caregivers received information about the study and informed consent was obtained from all participants. This study was approved by the CEI-GR (C-9) ethics committee and followed the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Convenience sampling was used to assign caregivers to the control or experimental groups.

Conditions

• Caregivers Burnout

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Meditation.	The caregivers received eight sessions lasting each one two hours with the following sequence: before each practical exercises they always received 15 minutes about scientific theoretical evidence explaining the importance of doing them: to get a comfortable posture they received 25 minutes of mobility, flexibility, balance, strength and endurance exercises. To increase lung capacity, 25 minutes of costal, diaphragmatic and clavicular breathing exercises. Finally, to have an open attitude without distractions or judging they practiced 25 minutes of body awareness exercise observing sensations, thoughts and perceptions with gratitude and compassion.
OTHER	Scientific descriptions about meditation.	The control group received scientific descriptions about meditation.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-12-10
• Primary completion: 2020-03-10
• Completion: 2020-03-10
• First posted: 2020-09-30
• Last updated: 2020-09-30

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Spain