REDCap

Shashank Ghai et al. (2026) · JMIR formative research

This pilot randomized trial with 61 adults living with chronic pain tested whether an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) course delivered over video could be run successfully, and looked at early signs of benefit. MBSR is a structured group program that teaches meditation, body awareness and gentle yoga so that people relate differently to pain and stress. Chronic pain limits physical function, emotional well-being and quality of life, and standard medical treatment often brings only limited relief, which is why the researchers explored this approach. Because it was a pilot, the main question was feasibility rather than effectiveness. Participants in Quebec, Canada, had non-cancer pain lasting at least three months, on most days of the week, rated 4 or higher out of 10. Thirty were assigned to MBSR and 31 to a no-intervention comparison group. The MBSR group met on Zoom for eight weekly two-hour sessions in groups of 15, with a 30-minute home practice goal six days a week, and everyone completed questionnaires before the program, at 8 weeks and at 3 months. The study did not meet its feasibility targets: 23.5% of people contacted joined (target 30%), 60.7% completed all assessments (target 80%) and 63.3% of the MBSR group attended at least four sessions and did enough home practice (target 80%). In exploratory analyses, pain-related disability dropped from 36.0 to 24.0 points by 3 months with MBSR versus 39.1 to 36.0 in the comparison group (interaction P = .03), and physical health, overall health and participation in social activities also improved more (P = .003, .02 and .02). No group-by-time differences appeared for pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, pain self-efficacy or pain intensity. MBSR participants recorded 26 adverse events, mainly fatigue, pain and agitation during exercises. Questionnaires took about 36 minutes to complete, and 68.3% of expected practice-journal entries were returned. The authors describe all clinical results as hypothesis-generating because the trial was too small to test effectiveness, ran many comparisons without adjustment, and lost participants. Limitations they list include unplanned optional follow-up sessions and a peer-support group formed by participants that may have reinforced the 3-month results, adverse events recorded only through unstructured journals, and assessor blinding that was lost after baseline. They propose simpler consent, targeted recruitment and a waitlist control in a future, adequately powered trial.