Feasibility and Acceptability of an App-Based Mindfulness Meditation Intervention for People with Spinal Cord Injury...

This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of an app-guided mindfulness meditation (MM) intervention compared to a health education (HE) control for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and chronic pain.

A pilot randomized controlled trial recruited 60 individuals with SCI and chronic pain from local SCI outpatient clinics, national registries, and community outreach. Participants were randomly assigned to MM or HE conditions. The intervention involved listening to either guided meditations or health-related talks on a mobile app for 10 minutes/day, 6 days/week, for 6 weeks. Feasibility was determined via benchmarks for recruitment (≥80% consent rate), adherence (≥70% use app ≥60 minutes/week for 6 weeks), and retention (≥70% complete follow-up assessments). Acceptability was determined if ≥70% of participants reported a score of ≥20 on a satisfaction questionnaire. Participants also completed ratings of pain intensity, interference, depression, and anxiety at baseline (T1), immediately post intervention (T2), and 6 weeks post intervention (T3).

A total of 93% of eligible participants consented, 76% completed T2, and 86% completed T3 assessments. Adherence rates fell below the benchmark for MM (63%) and HE (62%) but exceeded the benchmark when considering only participants who used the app at least once (MM, 71%; HE, 80%). Eighty-two percent of MM and 84% of HE scored ≥20 on the satisfaction questionnaire.

A 6-week MM intervention using a no-cost, publicly available app is feasible and acceptable among people with SCI and chronic pain. Future research examining the efficacy of the MM intervention on pain and mood in this population is warranted.