Veterans' engagement in mindfulness practices following intervention

Abstract: Mindfulness-based interventions are complementary and integrative health interventions, widely used for mental health. However, while these interventions show significant benefits for veterans, veterans are more likely to drop out of mindfulness-based interventions than other treatments. This study aimed to evaluate veterans' motivations for and long-term engagement in mindfulness practices following mindfulness-based interventions. One hundred sixty-one veterans completed phone surveys 6-12 months after receiving mindfulness interventions through the Veteran Affairs Health Care System. Bivariate statistics were utilized to estimate relationships between demographic variables and theme scores, effect size for significant findings, and to estimate relationships between theme scores. Veterans reported that they sought treatment for trauma, health concerns, depression, and anxiety. They reported benefits from treatment in their depressive symptoms, anxiety, health concerns, and pain levels. More than half of participants reported maintaining a daily mindfulness practice following treatment. Findings suggest that different types of mindfulness interventions had comparable outcomes at follow-up, but demographic variables correlated with different veteran outcomes. Presenting certain mindfulness skills early in mindfulness-based intervention programming and building daily mindfulness practices throughout treatment may help veterans access the most efficacious components of mindfulness-based intervention and reduce the likelihood of dropout.