Changes in Perceived Stress Following a 10-Week Digital Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program: Retrospective
Aarathi Venkatesan1, Holly Krymis1, Jenny Scharff1
1Vida Health, San Francisco, CA, United States.
JMIR Formative Research
|May 25, 2021
Summary
Digital mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) effectively reduced stress in participants. This blended program, combining app-based content with health coaching, showed sustained improvements in mental well-being.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health Interventions
- Mental Health Technology
- Mindfulness-Based Interventions
Background:
- Growing need for scalable mental health solutions.
- Digital delivery of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) shows promise.
- MBSR addresses depression, anxiety, and stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate stress reduction in a 10-week digital MBSR program.
- Assess changes in perceived stress using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)-10.
- Combine app-based delivery with remote health coaching.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective, observational study design.
- 229 participants with moderate-to-high stress (PSS-10).
- 10-week program with app content and weekly health coach sessions.
- Linear mixed effects modeling for stress score changes over time.
- Intention-to-treat analysis and reliable change index computed.
Main Results:
- Significant stress reduction observed by week 12 (average 4.86 points).
- 83.2% of participants showed stress reduction; 40.5% had reliable improvement.
- Medium-term follow-up (6 months) showed sustained stress reduction in 61% of completers.
- Increased lesson completion correlated with greater stress level reduction.
Conclusions:
- Blended digital MBSR supports program engagement.
- Meaningful and sustained stress reduction is achievable.
- Digital interventions offer a scalable approach to mental health support.
Keywords:
digital mental health interventiondigital therapeuticshealth coachingmobile phoneperceived stressMore Related Videos
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