Manifesting Breath:Empirical Evidence for the Integration of Shape-changing Biofeedback-based Artefacts within Digital Mental Health Interventions

Digital interventions are often used to support people with mental health conditions, but low engagement frequently reduces their effectiveness. We investigate the use of a Physical Artefact for Well-being Support (PAWS) to improve engagement and effectiveness of an audio-only guided well-being intervention. Through our handheld shape-changing biofeedback-based PAWS, users can synchronously feel their breath via kinaesthetic haptic feedback. By evaluating our device in a randomised-controlled experimental paradigm (N=58), we demonstrate significant reductions in physiological and subjective (self-reported) anxiety compared to an audio-only control. Our findings conclude that synchronous interactions with one‘s own physiological data via the PAWS, improves engagement and effectiveness of an intervention

The role of emotion regulation in the relationship between mindfulness and risk factors for disordered eating: A longitudinal mediation analysis

Objective: Evidence suggests mindfulness may reduce risk factors for disordered eating. However, mechanisms of change in this relationship are unclear. This longitudinal study tested whether emotion regulation mediates the prospective associations between mindfulness and two proximal risk factors for disordered eating: weight and shape concerns, and negative affect. Method: This study is a secondary analysis of data collected within an eating disorder prevention trial. Adolescent girls (N = 374, M age = 15.70, SD = 0.77) completed self-report measures of mindfulness, emotion regulation, weight and shape concerns, and negative affect at baseline, 2 months following baseline, and 7 months following baseline. Path analyses were computed to test hypothesized indirect effects using confidence intervals based on 5000 bootstrap samples. Results: Higher baseline mindfulness predicted lower weight and shape concerns and negative affect at 7 months via a mediator of better emotion regulation at 2 months. This effect remained while controlling for earlier measurements of the mediator and outcome in the model of negative affect but not weight and shape concerns. Discussion: Emotion regulation may be an important mechanism explaining how mindfulness influences negative affect. Efforts should be made to intervene on mindfulness and emotion regulation in prevention and early intervention programmes for eating disorders and other psychiatric conditions. Public Significance: Research has shown that mindfulness can help to reduce some of the risk of developing an eating disorder. This study explored whether mindfulness reduces some of this risk by helping people to better manage their emotions. Understanding this process can help us to develop better mindfulness-based strategies to support people who are at risk of developing an eating disorder.</p

Exercising body but not mind: A qualitative exploration of attitudes to combining physical activity and mindfulness practice for mental health promotion

BackgroundPhysical activity and mindfulness meditation can be effective for maintaining good mental wellbeing, with early-stage research suggesting even greater effectiveness in tandem. Literature is lacking on the perceptions and acceptability of these practices, particularly in a preventative context. The study aimed to explore attitudes toward mental health and its maintenance through physical activity and mindfulness meditation in the university student population.MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of 16 students from 10 United Kingdom universities (Mage = 23 years, SD = 3.22) recruited through social media and stratified to have varied wellbeing symptoms, physical activity levels, and experience with mindfulness meditation. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to elicit meaning from the data.ResultsFour main themes were constructed. Participants held a “Dualist view of health,” in which mental and physical aspects were seen as distinct but connected, and prioritized physical health maintenance. The “Low-point paradox,” where engagement is most difficult during the time of greatest need, was identified as a crucial psychological barrier across health behaviors. “Unfamiliarity with mindfulness practice” was common, as were misconceptions inhibiting practice. Finally, participants were intrigued by combining physical activity and mindfulness, supposing that “Whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” with mutual reinforcement of the two techniques cited as biggest motivating factor.ConclusionEffective preventative mental health strategies for adults, including university students, should accommodate for common psychological barriers and facilitators to health maintenance behaviors, including misconceptions surrounding mindfulness, to increase acceptability. Combining physical activity and mindfulness meditation is one promising preventative approach that warrants further investigation

Sensory Feedback for Upper-Limb Prostheses:Opportunities and Barriers

The addition of sensory feedback to upper-limb prostheses has been shown to improve control, increase embodiment, and reduce phantom limb pain. However, most commercial prostheses do not incorporate sensory feedback due to several factors. This paper focuses on the major challenges of a lack of deep understanding of user needs, the unavailability of tailored, realistic outcome measures and the segregation between research on control and sensory feedback. The use of methods such as the Person-Based Approach and co-creation can improve the design and testing process. Stronger collaboration between researchers can integrate different prostheses research areas to accelerate the translation process

Supplementary materials for "Exercising body but not mind: A qualitative exploration of attitudes to combining physical activity and mindfulness practice for mental health promotion"

Supplementary materials for a study of the attitudes of a UK-wide sample of university students towards combining physical activity and mindfulness practice in order to maintain good mental health. Recruitment of participants was conducted over social media (Twitter). The materials in this set include the recruitment flyer, screening survey content, interview schedule and full interview transcripts. The set also includes full ethics documentation (available on request). This study is part of a doctoral research project aiming to investigate the potential of combining physical activity and mindfulness practice for maintaining good mental health, and to create a digital intervention supporting people with their combined practice

Experiences of using digital mindfulness-based interventions: Rapid scoping review and thematic synthesis

Background: Digital mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are a promising approach to deliver accessible and scalable mindfulness training and have been shown to improve a range of health outcomes. However, the success of digital MBIs is reliant on adequate engagement, which remains a crucial challenge. Understanding people’s experiences of using digital MBIs and identifying the core factors that facilitate or act as barriers to engagement is essential to inform intervention development and maximize engagement and outcomes. Objective: This study aims to systematically map the literature on people’s experiences of using digital MBIs that target psychosocial variables (eg, anxiety, depression, distress, and well-being) and identify key barriers to and facilitators of engagement. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to synthesize empirical qualitative research on people’s experiences of using digital MBIs. We adopted a streamlined approach to ensure that the evidence could be incorporated into the early stages of intervention development. The search strategy identified articles with at least one keyword related to mindfulness, digital, user experience, and psychosocial variables in their title or abstract. Inclusion criteria specified that articles must have a qualitative component, report on participants’ experiences of using a digital MBI designed to improve psychosocial variables, and have a sample age range that at least partially overlapped with 16 to 35 years. Qualitative data on user experience were charted and analyzed using inductive thematic synthesis to generate understandings that go beyond the content of the original studies. We used the Quality of Reporting Tool to critically appraise the included sources of evidence. Results: The search identified 510 studies, 22 (4.3%) of which met the inclusion criteria. Overall, the samples were approximately 78% female and 79% White; participants were aged between 16 and 69 years; and the most used measures in intervention studies were mindfulness, psychological flexibility, and variables related to mental health (including depression, anxiety, stress, and well-being). All studies were judged to be adequately reported. We identified 3 themes characterizing barriers to and facilitators of engagement: responses to own practice (ie, negative reactions to one’s own practice are common and can deplete motivation), making mindfulness a habit (ie, creating a consistent training routine is essential yet challenging), and leaning on others (ie, those engaging depend on someone else for support). Conclusions: The themes identified in this review provide crucial insights as to why people frequently stop engaging with digital MBIs. Researchers and developers should consider using person-based coparticipatory methods to improve acceptability of and engagement with digital MBIs, increase their effectiveness, and support their translation to real-world use. Such strategies must be grounded in relevant literature and meet the priorities and needs of the individuals who will use the interventions

Evaluation of the Accelerating Improvement in Knowlsey: Pathways to Success Initiative

The Pathways to Success initiative aimed to raise standards, especially in literacy, across the primary and secondary phases in Knowsley, Merseyside. The project commenced in February 2018 and concluded in July 2019. It was funded through the Department for Education’s Strategic School Improvement Fund (SSIF) and coordinated by the Knowsley Education Commission, set up in November 2016. The project focused on 30 schools in an area with exceptionally high levels of disadvantage and a poor record of student achievement over a number of years, particularly for students at age sixteen. Participating schools were able to access support from a PtS Adviser, development sessions organised at school level and centrally, and modest additional funding to implement a locally-authored Accelerated Improvement Plan overseen by an Accelerated Improvement Group. Key approaches included intensive work in classrooms, capacity building and leadership development, and school-to-school support

Supplementary materials for "Understanding University Student Priorities for Mental Health and Well-being Support: A Mixed-Methods Exploration using the Person-Based Approach"

These supplementary materials comprise some of the study materials used in a mixed-methods exploration of student engagement with and priorities for well-being and mental health support at university. They include the content of an online survey instrument (part 1, quantitative), the focus group discussion schedule (part 2, qualitative), and anonymised data from the survey and focus groups. Research took place in the summer of 2020; the participants were students of the University of Bath at that time.Full details of the methodology may be found in the associated paper. The survey instrument and focus group schedule are included in the dataset.The data archived here has been anonymised in line with the nature of informed consent obtained from participants.Transcripts and descriptively analysed survey data are in MS Word (docx) format. Anonymised and pre-processed survey data are in MS Excel (xlsx) format. The qualitative analysis was conducted in NVivo.The online survey was open between 25th June and 5th August 2020. The three focus groups took place in July 2020