Implications for practice and research

• Referral of primary care patients to mindfulness training programmes can lead to improved depression and anxiety and increased likelihood of initiating an effective self-management strategy.

• Longer term studies of behavioural change following mindfulness training are needed.

Context

It is increasingly recognised that chronic physical illnesses (eg, arthritis, diabetes, chronic pain, irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia) commonly co-occur with mental health conditions (eg, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder). When mental illness is comorbid with chronic physical illness, outcomes are generally poorer, in part due to impaired self-management. This study by Gawande and colleagues studied the impact of mindfulness training for primary care patients on self-management by assessing the level of action plan initiation for …