Mindfullness digital intervention on anxiety
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating the effect of a mindfulness digital intervention on anxiety
IRAS ID
254974
Contact name
Ruihua Hou
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Southampton
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 20 days
Research summary
Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental disorders. Globally, 7.3% of people suffer from anxiety with more than 8 million cases (12% of the population) in the UK alone. This makes anxiety disorders one of the most costly disorders of the mind. There are several psychological and drug treatments currently available, however, the most effective form of treatment is still unknown. More and more, newer approaches to treatment are being developed.
Mindfulness, a form of meditation that involves focussing on one’s attention onto feelings and emotions in the present moment, has been practiced for over 3000 years. Interest in mindfulness as a treatment for psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, has been growing and increasingly mindfulness is being integrated into clinical practice. Although research has shown mindfulness is effective, how it works is still unknown, and therefore, how best to implement it is unknown.
Mindfulness is normally delivered in face to face sessions or counselling sessions on the NHS, however, as resources are limited equally so are spaces to the sessions. Digital health interventions, such as smartphone apps, are used to fill this gap, but once again, a lack of research means how best to use them in a clinical setting is unkown.
Primarily, aim of this research is to investigate whether the mindfulness meditation app – headspace – can reduce anxiety symptoms. Furthermore we aim to investigate how mindfulness affects the immune system via the inflammatory system and whether this could be used to inform clinical practice.
REC name
North East - York Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/NE/0359
Date of REC Opinion
16 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion