Perceived health improvement through a mindfulness meditation development program in fibromyalgia patients

Abstract

This study analyzes the effects of a mindfulness developmentmeditation program on perceived health in a group of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Thirty-three patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia participated. A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest/follow-up design was carried out, with oneexperimental group and one control group. The SF-36 Questionnaire was used as the evaluation instrument. The statistical analyses done show an improvement in the dimensions physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, social functioning, role emotional, mentalhealth, and mental component at the end of the intervention. These improvements are maintained in the follow-up test given three months after intervention. These results are in agreement with other studies which have found mindfulness techniques to be effective in improving patients with fibromyalgia. Nevertheless, the study shows various limitations that would have to be corrected in successivestudies to bring more validity to the results.

Keywords

• meditation
• mindfulness
• fibromyalgia
• perceived health
• intervention