Clinical trial NCT03923452: Mindfulness Training for Older Adult Canadian Immigrants
Official title: Mindfulness Training for Low-Income Older Adult Canadian Immigrants
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Stress
Keywords: mindfulness
immigrant
stress
wellbeing
Lead sponsor: Toronto Metropolitan University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2019-04-22
Enrollment: 50
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Randomized block design: 25 randomized to experimental group; 25 randomized to control group in blocks of 8
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: This study will evaluate whether mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a viable community program for enhancing wellbeing among older adult immigrants from low income neighborhoods. Half of the sample will be randomized to receive the 9-week mindfulness program and the other half will be randomized to a wait list control condition. Primary outcomes of interest will include perceived stress and self-report depressive symptoms. Secondary outcomes will include trait mindfulness and self-care, self-compassion, emotion regulations, and attentional skills. Participants will also be invited to engage in a 30-minute interview to discuss their lived experience as an immigrant in Canada and their experience in the MBSR program. Due to COVID-19, all sessions will be held virtually.

Detailed description: Adults aged 65 years and older are the fastest growing segment of the Canadian population. In the 2006 Census, 43% of older adults in Ontario identified as being a Canadian immigrant, a statistic which continues to grow in the context of an aging population. Aging is commonly associated with declines in physical and cognitive capacity, which is significantly accelerated by chronic perceived stress. Lower income older adults are particularly vulnerable to accelerated aging and disease onset due to the stress of economic insecurity. In 2012, the highest low-income rates in Canada were reported among immigrants 65 years of age and older. Accordingly, it is important to investigate programs that can support the wellbeing of aging Canadian immigrants.

The principal investigator (PI) and her research team will conduct a one-factor between-subjects design with two conditions - a mindfulness-based intervention and a waitlist control - to examine the benefits of mindfulness training on indices of wellbeing, including perceived stress, depressive symptoms, emotion regulation, self-compassion and self care. It is hypothesized that mindfulness training will enhance indices of wellbeing compared to a wait-list control. Employing a mixed-methods approach, participants will also engage in a qualitative interviews to provide insight into the lived experience and how mindfulness may serve Canadian immigrants.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* 60+ years of age; Canadian immigrant; low socioeconomic status; immigrated to Canada within last 15 years; reports experiencing stress in their daily life.

Exclusion Criteria:

* existing contemplative practice; currently enrolled in a research study; non-fluency in English; neurological disorder that prevents participation in the 9-week program or testing procedures; plans to vacation during the study period/unable to attend 9 program sessions and 2 testing sessions; existing substance abuse (last 6 months); psychiatric disorder that may prevent participation in 9-week program or testing procedure.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
measure: Center for epidemiological studies - depression (CES-D)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
Other outcomes:
measure: Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
measure: Mindful Self-Care Scale- SHORT (MSCS)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
measure: Stroop Task
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
measure: Self-Compassion Scale (SCS)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
measure: Brief Resilience Scale (BRS)
timeFrame: 2 days (pre-post testing)
Locations:
city: Toronto
country: Canada
facility: Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University)
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: Toronto Metropolitan University
name: Alexandra J Fiocco, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: