Mindful-Veteran: the implementation of a brief stress reduction course
Karin J Carlson1, Susan G Silva, Joanne Langley
1Duke University School of Nursing, 307 Trent Drive, DUMC 3322 Durham, NC 27710, USA. karin.carlson@va.gov
Background:
Stress reduction is a focus of healthcare management in Veterans who often faced extreme stressors during military service.
Objective:
A quality improvement project to evaluate the implementation and effects of a brief mindfulness course delivered to Veterans, Mindful-Veteran (M-Vet), with self-reported mild to severe depressive symptoms in an outpatient setting.
Design:
A within-subjects design was used to determine whether depressed Veterans enrolled in a 6-week M-Vet course report improvements in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and quality of life.
Results:
Mental health, general health, emotional role, and social functioning quality of life subscales significantly improved over the 6-week course. Severity of stress and depressive symptom scores, however, did not significantly decrease.
Conclusion:
The findings suggest that this brief, simplified mindfulness program designed for military Veterans, seen within a community based outpatient clinic, has clinically beneficial effects on psychiatric outcomes.
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