Pilot Study of a Mindfulness-Based Group Intervention for Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease and Their Caregivers

This pilot study assessed the feasibility and impact of an 8-week mindfulness-based group intervention on cognitive and emotional functioning for individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and their caregivers. Twenty-five percent of those initially recruited dropped out before completing the study. The final sample (N = 39; 29 patients/10 caregivers) was 53.8 % male, 89.7 % Caucasian, with a mean level of education of 16.77 years (SD = 2.51), and ranged in age from 50 to 82 (M = 65.64, SD = 7.62). Mindfulness levels significantly increased for all participants from pre- to immediate-post. A significant improvement was seen for self-reported symptoms of depression and self-reported language functioning. Patient participants uniquely showed significant improvement on mental flexibility and complex attention tasks and reported significantly fewer emotional and cognitive symptoms associated with PD. Participant compliance with assigned home mindfulness practice was measured with homework tracking logs, and participants reported an average of 20 min/day, 6 days/week. Participants attended an average of six classes. Homework compliance significantly correlated with improvement in mindfulness levels, apathy and anxiety symptoms, and on working memory and mental flexibility tasks. Better class attendance was also associated with increased mindfulness and reduced apathy symptoms. Increased mindfulness was related to fewer symptoms of apathy and anxiety and better PD-related quality of life. These results show promise for the use of mindfulness-based interventions to improve emotional and cognitive functioning in individuals with PD and their caregivers and suggest that efforts to increase participant retention and encourage homework compliance and class attendance are important for optimizing outcomes in future trials.