Huberty Jennifer, Eckert Ryan, Larkey Linda, Joeman Lynda, Mesa Ruben
College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, United States.
Mays Cancer Center, University of Texas Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, San Antonio, TX, United States.
JMIR Cancer. 2019 Jul 22;5(2):e14292. doi: 10.2196/14292.
Myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) patients suffer from long-term symptoms and reduced quality of life. Mindfulness meditation is a complementary therapy shown to be beneficial for alleviating a range of cancer-related symptoms; however, in-person meditation interventions are difficult for cancer patients to attend. Meditation via a mobile phone app represents a novel approach in MPN patients for delivering meditation.
The study aimed to report MPN patients' (ie, naïve or nearly naïve meditators) perceptions of meditation and explore their experiences in the context of using a mobile phone for meditation after participation in an 8-week consumer-based meditation app feasibility study.
MPN patients (n=128) were recruited nationally through organizational partners and social media. Eligible and consented patients were enrolled into 1 of 4 groups, 2 that received varying orders of 2 consumer-based apps (10% Happier and Calm) and 2 that received one of the apps alone for the second 4 weeks of the 8-week intervention after an educational control condition. Participants were asked to perform 10 min per day of mobile phone-based meditation, irrespective of the app and order in which they received the apps. At the conclusion of the study, participants were asked whether they would like to participate in a 20-min phone interview comprising 9 to 10 questions to discuss their perceptions and experiences while using the mobile phone meditation apps. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and imported into NVivo 12 (QSR International) for coding and analysis, using a combination of deductive and inductive methods to organize the data, generate categories, and develop themes and subthemes.
A total of 48 MPN patients completed postintervention interviews, of which 29% (14/48) of the patients only used the 10% Happier app, 21% (10/48) of the patients only used the Calm app, and 46% (22/48) of the patients used both apps during the 8-week intervention. Themes identified in the analysis of interview data related to (1) perceptions of meditation before, during, and after the study, (2) perceptions of the Calm app, (3) perceptions of the 10% Happier app, (4) perceived impacts of using the meditation apps, (5) overall experiences of participating in the study, (6) recommendations surrounding meditation for other MPN patients, and (7) plans to continue meditation.
The qualitative findings of this study suggest that MPN patients who are naïve or nearly naïve meditators perceived mobile phone meditation as enjoyable, preferred the Calm app over the 10% Happier app, perceived the Calm app as more appealing (eg, narrator's voice and different meditations or background sounds offered), and perceived beneficial effects of meditation on mental health, sleep, fatigue, and pain. Future research is needed to better understand the efficacy of mobile phone meditation on MPN patient outcomes and meditation app design features that enhance uptake among its users.
骨髓增殖性肿瘤（MPN）患者长期遭受症状困扰，生活质量下降。正念冥想是一种辅助疗法，已被证明有助于缓解一系列与癌症相关的症状；然而，癌症患者很难参加面对面的冥想干预。通过手机应用程序进行冥想是一种针对MPN患者的新型冥想方式。
本研究旨在报告MPN患者（即初次或几乎初次进行冥想者）对冥想的看法，并在参与一项为期8周的基于消费者的冥想应用程序可行性研究后，探索他们在使用手机进行冥想过程中的体验。
通过组织合作伙伴和社交媒体在全国范围内招募MPN患者（n = 128）。符合条件并同意参与的患者被分为4组中的1组，其中2组按不同顺序使用2种基于消费者的应用程序（“10%更快乐”和“平静”），另外2组在经过教育对照阶段后，在为期8周干预的后4周单独使用其中一个应用程序。参与者被要求每天进行10分钟的基于手机的冥想，无论他们使用的是哪个应用程序以及接收应用程序的顺序如何。在研究结束时，询问参与者是否愿意参加一次20分钟的电话访谈，访谈包含9至10个问题，以讨论他们在使用手机冥想应用程序时的看法和体验。访谈内容逐字记录并导入NVivo 12（QSR国际公司）进行编码和分析，采用演绎和归纳相结合的方法来组织数据、生成类别，并形成主题和子主题。
共有48名MPN患者完成了干预后的访谈，其中29%（14/48）的患者仅使用了“10%更快乐”应用程序，21%（10/48）的患者仅使用了“平静”应用程序，46%（22/48）的患者在为期8周的干预期间同时使用了这两个应用程序。访谈数据分析中确定的主题包括：（1）研究前、研究期间和研究后对冥想的看法；（2）对“平静”应用程序的看法；（3）对“10%更快乐”应用程序的看法；（4）使用冥想应用程序的感知影响；（5）参与研究的总体体验；（6）对其他MPN患者冥想的建议；（7）继续冥想的计划。
本研究的定性结果表明，初次或几乎初次进行冥想的MPN患者认为手机冥想令人愉悦，比起“10%更快乐”应用程序更喜欢“平静”应用程序，认为“平静”应用程序更具吸引力（例如，讲述者的声音以及提供的不同冥想或背景声音），并认为冥想对心理健康、睡眠、疲劳和疼痛有有益影响。未来需要进行更多研究，以更好地了解手机冥想对MPN患者治疗效果的影响，以及能提高用户接受度的冥想应用程序设计特点。
