Effectiveness of Online Mindfulness Platform in Improving Anxiety, Depression, and Stress in Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Control Trial.

An online mindfulness platform improved anxiety more than general health education in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, but stress and depression did not differ between groups at most time points. Patients from a regional hospital were randomly assigned to either an online mindfulness program or general health education. At the fourth and eighth weeks, the mindfulness group had significantly lower anxiety scores than the control group. Within the mindfulness group, stress and depression also improved by the eighth week. The findings suggest that online mindfulness can help manage anxiety, though its effects on stress and depression were less clear.

Study at a glance

Abstract

COVID-19 epidemic bring a great threat to human physical and mental health. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an online mindfulness platform in improving mental status. Patients from a regional hospital were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups. The experimental group received online mindfulness interventions, and control group received general health education. There were no significant differences in the stress or depression scores between the two groups (P > 0.05). Intervention group had significantly lower anxiety scores than control group at fourth and eighth weeks (P 0.05). The anxiety in the intervention group was significantly improved at the 4th and 8th weeks (P<0.05). Moreover, the stress and depression in the intervention group were significantly improved at the 8th week (P<0.05). Online mindfulness intervention can effectively improve emotional status.