Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

Evidence Map of Mindfulness

Click for list of published reports
Click for topic nomination form
Click for list of reports in progress

Subscribe to the
ESP Report RSS feed RSS feed icon
Evidence Map of Mindfulness

Evidence Map of Mindfulness

Principal Investigators: Susanne Hempel, PhD; Paul G. Shekelle, MD, PhD
Co-Investigator: Stephanie L. Taylor, PhD; Nell J. Marshall, PhD; Michele R. Solloway, PhD

West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Washington (DC): Department of Veterans Affairs; October 2014

Download PDF: Report

Introduction

Many Veterans desire complementary and alternative medicine or integrative medicine modalities, both for treatment and for the promotion of wellness. Given the VA's desire to promote evidence-based practice, this evidence mapping project aims to help provide guidance to VA leadership about the distribution of evidence on mindfulness approaches.

Mindfulness, often translated from Sanskrit to mean "awareness," is an ancient Buddhist concept and, although many different forms and definitions exist, a central aspect of the practice is the intention to be more aware and engaged in the present moment. Two components can be differentiated: the self-regulation of attention so that it is maintained on immediate experiences (thereby allowing for increased recognition of mental events in the present moment) and adopting a particular orientation toward experiences in the present moment (an orientation that is characterized by curiosity, openness, and acceptance). Kabat-Zinn is often credited with popularizing mindfulness in the US by creating a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for treating chronic disease which created institutional capacity for using mindfulness-approaches in clinical settings. Evaluations of a large number and variety of mindfulness interventions have been published, there is only limited agreement on how to define mindfulness interventions, and formats and components vary across interventions.

Key Questions/Scope of Project

1: An Evidence Map that provides a visual overview of the distribution of evidence (both what is known and where there is little or no evidence base) for mindfulness; and
2: A set of executive summaries that would help stakeholders interpret the state of the evidence to inform policy and clinical decision making.

See also

Evidence Map of Mindfulness (Management eBrief)

Goldstein KM, Shepherd-Banigan M, Coeytaux RR, et al. Use of mindfulness, meditation and relaxation to treat vasomotor symptoms. Climacteric. 2017;20(2):178-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2017.1283685


Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.