Mindful-Veteran: The implementation of a brief stress reduction course

BackgroundStress reduction is a focus of healthcare management in Veterans who often faced extreme stressors during military service.ObjectiveA quality improvement project to evaluate the implementation and effects of a brief mindfulness course delivered to Veterans, Mindful-Veteran (M-Vet), with self-reported mild to severe depressive symptoms in an outpatient setting.DesignA within-subjects design was used to determine whether depressed Veterans enrolled in a 6-week M-Vet course report improvements in perceived stress, depressive symptoms, and quality of life.ResultsMental health, general health, emotional role, and social functioning quality of life subscales significantly improved over the 6-week course. Severity of stress and depressive symptom scores, however, did not significantly decrease.ConclusionThe findings suggest that this brief, simplified mindfulness program designed for military Veterans, seen within a community based outpatient clinic, has clinically beneficial effects on psychiatric outcomes.