Chen, K.W., Berger, C.C., Manheimer, E., Forde, D., Magidson, J., Dachman, L., & Lejuez, C.W. (2012). Meditative therapies for reducing anxiety: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials. Depression and Anxiety, 29, 545–562.
TOTAL REFERENCES RETRIEVED: 1,030 references were retrieved.
EVALUATION METHOD AND COMMENTS ON LITERATURE USED: Use the CLEAR = NPT quality checklist. Most studies did not provide the information needed for quality assessment. Sixteen studies had good quality, and 17 had moderate or acceptable quality.
PHASE OF CARE: Not provided
Interventions incorporating meditative practices have overall positive effects on mood.
Very few studies included patients with cancer, and the review incorporated findings from normal health controls as well as individuals with various acute and chronic diseases. All types of practices including imagery and those involving movement were considered together. Although there are certainly some similarities in the mental components of many of these practices, it is unclear that they would be routinely viewed as the same. Many studies also included counseling, education, and psychoeducational types of components, which can be expected to confound results.
Findings suggest that in the general population and patients with various types of chronic disease, interventions that involve incorporation of mindfulness and meditative types of practice may be beneficial in reducing anxiety. The application specifically forcancer care is difficult to determine because there were so few studies involving patients with cancer. Nurses can expect that some patients may benefit from meditative practices, and these approaches may be more acceptable to some ethnic groups.