Avaliação da efetividade do programa de qualidade de vida baseado em mindfulness

Abstract

Epidemiological data indicate that psychiatric symptoms in undergraduate and graduate university students have more expressive rates compared to peers from outside the university. This phenomenon has serious consequences since it affects young people in their professional training phase, which can negatively impact the development of essential skills and competences for the performance of student, work and research activities. From the 1970s onwards, interest in Mindfulness-Based Interventions (IBM) grew dramatically as a result of a series of studies that pointed to positive outcomes on medical and psychological conditions. The favorable results contributed to the application of IBM in other contexts such as higher education. The Brazilian literature, however, presents a small number of studies that investigated the effects of IBM in the academic environment. Considering the lack of work on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions as a mental health resource for university students, this thesis was prepared, divided into three distinct studies: Study 1 - The effects of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (IBM) on mental health of university students: a systematic review study; Study 2 – Feasibility analysis study of the Mindfulness-based Quality of Life Program as a mental health intervention for university students and Study 3 – Evaluation of the effectiveness of a Mindfulness-based Quality of Life Program. In Study 1, a systematic review was carried out with systematic searches in the Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, PubMed and Lilacs databases with controlled and uncontrolled descriptors. A total of 1,548 publications were identified, but only 18 met the following eligibility criteria: randomized clinical trial (RCT) design, target population of university students, intervention based on the MBSR and/or MBCT mindfulness programs, to be carried out in person and with meetings weekly. The results showed that mindfulness-based interventions showed significant or moderately significant effects on their analysis variables (anxiety, depression, stress, mindfulness and selfcompassion), showing themselves as promising interventions for intervention and promotion of health in academia. In Study 2, the feasibility of the Mindfulness-Based Quality of Life Program was evaluated so that it could be carried out in the future in greater proportions in higher education institutions. Twenty-two Psychology students from two different university centers participated. The results indicated the need for methodological adjustments and improvements in the conditions for carrying out the program. However, most of the analyzed feasibility qualifiers proved feasible for a larger-scale study, in addition to considering the program as a possible resource to be used in universities as a mental health intervention for students. Study 3 investigated the effects of the eight-week online Mindfulness-Based Quality of Life Program on quality of life (WHOQOL), depression, anxiety and stress (DASS-21) and mindfulness (FFMQ) in a sample of 42 strictu sensu graduate students divided into two groups - isolated intervention and combined intervention - both evaluated before and after the program. Both groups showed statistically significant changes in the variables of interest, but the combined intervention group showed improvement in all outcomes evaluated with effect sizes mostly medium and high. The set of studies in this thesis points out that interventions based on online mindfulness are feasible in academic environments and can be configured as a resource for the treatment, prevention and promotion of mental health in universities.