Mindfulness meditation for pulmonary hypertension program development: Acceptability and feasibility of technology-assisted complementary health intervention for symptom self-management

Background: Adults with pulmonary hypertension (PH) live with a high symptom burden, psychological distress, and poor quality of life.Mindfulness-based interventions delivered in person or virtually have shown clinical benefits for chronic conditions and PH.Pilot testing of the Mindfulness Meditation for Pulmonary Hypertension (MMPH), an 8-week, web-based, multimodal program, shows improvement in depression, symptoms, and quality of life.Objectives: To evaluate the MMPH program's acceptability and feasibility quantitatively and qualitatively from MMPH participants.Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to report adherence to and completion of each component of MMPH (Zoom, video, and app use) among 15 participants who received the intervention in 2022-2023.Qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on their daily reflection journals, downloaded from the MMPH app.Results: Fifteen participants attended 28 out of 30 Zoom sessions (93%).Twelve of 15 (80%) participants accessed the video-viewing activity at least 50% of the time (3 of 6 videos).Eight out of 15 participants (53%) used the App during the intervention period, and 6 out of 15 participants (40%) used the App for >2 weeks.The content analysis reveals four most salient themes: Perceived Benefits of Meditation, Daily Life Practice and Activity, Awareness and Acceptance, and PH Symptom Improvement.The System Usability Scale for the MMPH program was 81.47 (10.21),indicating moderate acceptability.Conclusions: Assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a complex behavioral health intervention, such as the MMPH program, is critical to ensuring consistent intervention fidelity.Comprehensive approaches are essential to guide necessary program modifications for future real-world implementation science testing.