Investigating Train the Trainer Delivery of Mindfulness-based Training
Condition: Resilience; Stress
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness training (MT) on cognitive and
      psychological factors when incorporated to the duty-day schedule of servicemembers (via
      proctored mindfulness practice). Based on prior literature, it can be hypothesized that the
      benefits of MT on measures of attention, working memory, and psychological well-being will be
      greater for servicemembers who engage in proctored mindfulness practice and receive duty-day
      support compared to servicemembers who practice independently, on their own time, with no
      structured duty day support.
    

Detailed description: 
      Background: Prior research on mindfulness training (MT) in military servicemembers showed
      that MT can effectively protect against degradation in attention and working memory over
      high-demand intervals. The benefits of MT in servicemembers were also linked to greater
      engagement in mindfulness practice. These prior MT programs delivered their training via a
      direct delivery approach, which involved a mindfulness training expert (TE) providing
      training to an end-user (e.g., military servicemembers). While successful, these programs are
      poorly suited for rapid, large-scale dissemination because these programs require direct
      training from a mindfulness training expert to an end-user and a considerable amount of time
      dedicated to training. To overcome these issues, the principal investigator together with a
      mindfulness expert developed a mindfulness training program contextualized for the U.S. Army,
      known as MBAT (Mindfulness-Based Attention Training), that is amenable to the train-the-train
      delivery approach and can provide rapid, large-scale dissemination to thousands of
      individuals. Specifically, Master Resilience Trainer - Performance Expert specialists (PEs),
      who have extensive experience working with soldiers but no mindfulness experience, were
      trained to deliver the MBAT course.

      Problem: While training PEs to deliver MBAT complies with the U.S. Army time constraints, it
      remains unclear what is the best way to incorporate daily mindfulness practice into the duty
      schedule of servicemembers, which has a pivotal contribution to the protection against
      decline over high-demand intervals.

      Project Goal: The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of proctored vs.
      non-proctored practice of MBAT delivered by a PE to servicemembers. To investigate this
      issue, a trained PE will deliver MBAT to two groups of soldiers who will differ in the amount
      of duty-day support received to complete out-of-class mindfulness exercises. One group will
      be assigned proctored practice incorporated in the daily physical training (PT) and another
      group will be assigned non-proctored practice during which participants will perform the
      exercise independently, on their own.
    

Intervention name(s): MBAT with proctored practice; MBAT with non-proctored practice
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The training program is known as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, or MBAT. The MBAT program is based on the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, but contextualized for military personnel using themes relevant to military life. The training content is comprised four central themes: concentration, body awareness, open monitoring, and compassion. Participants will have proctored practice and complete the assigned, out-of-class mindfulness exercises during the duty day as party of their physical training.; The training program is known as Mindfulness-Based Attention Training, or MBAT. The MBAT program is based on the principles of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, but contextualized for military personnel using themes relevant to military life. The training content is comprised four central themes: concentration, body awareness, open monitoring, and compassion.Participants will not have proctored practice and will complete the assigned, out-of-class mindfulness exercises on their own.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: We aim to recruit three groups. Two groups will receive mindfulness training (MBAT) but will differ in their level of duty day support to engage in daily assigned mindfulness exercises. The Proctored group (n = 45) will receive mindfulness training and complete assigned exercises during the duty day, integrated into their daily physical training. The Non-Proctored group (n = 45) will receive identical mindfulness training, but complete their assigned exercises on their own time. These participants will not receive additional duty day support for their practice. A third group will receive no training and serve as a control group (No-Training Control, n = 45).
The design relies on group randomization at the level of individual platoons. This is due to the military requirement that organic unit structure is maintained during testing and course session scheduling. The number of participants is based on prior research (Jha et al., 2017).
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Mindfulness; Attention; Working Memory; Psychological Well-Being; Proctored Practice