Stress reduction for paid home care aides: A feasibility study of mindfulness meditation and Tai Chi interventions.

A comparison of mindful awareness practices (MAPs) meditation versus Korean-style Tai Chi for home care aides found that both groups improved in depression, insomnia, and negative affect over six weeks. Only the MAPs group showed sustained improvement in negative affect at three-month follow-up. At that point, 75% of MAPs participants continued practicing, compared to 55% of Tai Chi participants. MAPs were deemed more practical and easier to integrate into daily life, leading to their selection for scaling as a benefit for home care aides.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Evidence of effective self-care strategies to support Home Care Aides' (HCAs) mental health is limited. This study compares the feasibility of implementing one of two non-clinical, evidence-based stress-reduction treatments: mindful awareness practices (MAPs) meditation versus Korean-style Tai Chi. Program effectiveness was assessed on a range of self-reported health and mental health quantitative outcomes at three time-points. Both groups showed statistically significant improvements in depression, insomnia, and negative affect during the six weeks (all p. <0.05), but only the MAPs group demonstrated a sustained improvement in negative affect at three-month follow-up (p. <0.05). At three-month follow-up, 55% of Tai Chi participants continued practicing learned techniques, compared to 75% of MAPs participants. MAPs were found to be more practical and amenable to integration in daily life compared to Tai Chi. Showing positive results on both feasibility and effectiveness assessment, MAPs were chosen over Tai Chi to be scaled as a benefit to HCAs.