Challenges to Enrollment and Participation in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Among Veterans: A Qualitative Study

Background: Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is associated with reduced depressive symptoms, quality of life improvements, behavioral activation, and increased acceptance among veterans. This study was conducted to increase the reach and impact of a veterans’ MBSR program by identifying barriers to enrollment and participation to inform modifications in program delivery. Objective: Verify or challenge suspected barriers, and identify previously unrecognized barriers, to enrollment and participation in MBSR among veterans. Design: A retrospective qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews. Setting/location: VA Puget Sound Health Care System (Seattle, WA). Subjects: 68 interviewed, and 48 coded and analyzed before reaching saturation. Approach: Content analysis of semistructured interviews. Results: Of the participants who enrolled, most (78%) completed the program and described MBSR positively. Veterans identified insufficient or inaccurate information, scheduling issues, and an aversion to groups as barriers to enrollment. Participants who discontinued the program cited logistics (e.g., scheduling and medical issues), negative reactions to instructors or group members, difficulty understanding the MBSR practice purposes, and struggling to find time for the practices as barriers to completion. Other challenges (cohort dynamics, teacher impact on group structure and focus, instructor lack of military service, and physical and psychological challenges) did not impede participation; we interpreted these as growth-facilitating challenges. Common conditions among veterans (chronic pain, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression) were not described as barriers to enrollment or completion. Conclusions: Women-only MBSR groups and tele-health MBSR groups could improve accessibility to MBSR for veterans by addressing barriers such as commute anxiety, time restrictions, and an aversion to mixed gender groups among women. Educating MBSR teachers about veteran culture and health challenges faced by veterans, adding psychoeducation materials that relate mindfulness practice to conditions common among veterans, and improving visual aids for mindful movement exercises in the workbook could better accommodate veterans who participate in MBSR.