Beta-Testing of an Online Mindfulness Program Designed for Stroke Survivors and Their Caregivers During a Pandemic

Research Objectives To determine the usability, user acceptance and satisfaction of an online mindfulness program among stroke survivors and their caregivers. Design This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Setting At home. Participants Seven stroke survivors (70.2 +/-11.0 years, 1 female, 3 left hemisphere stroke) and three caregivers (59.7 +/-21.5 years, 3 females) took part in this study. Stroke survivors had a wide range of impairments and levels of familiarity with technology. Interventions The intervention consisted of a 3-week program of daily mindfulness exercises and education, with distinct modules for stroke survivors and for caregivers [1-3]. The mindfulness intervention was offered entirely remotely via the Desire2Learn platform. Main Outcome Measures After the intervention, a semi-structured interview was conducted to assess the usability of the mindfulness program and gather participants’ feedback. The interviews were audio-recorded and focused on overall experience, website accessibility, satisfaction with program content, adherence and perceived benefits. The transcribed verbatim were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis [4-5]. Results Satisfaction with the mindfulness program was high and participants perceived many benefits, such as better understanding of mindfulness and change in mindset. The content of the program was perceived as relevant and easy to understand. However, issues with accessibility of the Desire2Learn platform were reported, such as difficulty to access the content and to navigate the platform. Participants made suggestions on elements to improve the user experience with the Desire2Learn platform and better tailor the exercises to individuals’ capacity. Conclusions Findings from this project will be used to guide the development of a phase II pragmatic clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of an online intervention that targets quality of life and psychological well-being of stroke survivors. Author(s) Disclosures The authors have no conflict of interest.