Effects of an Online Meditation Course on Quality of Life

Effects of an Online Meditation Course on Quality of Life and Positive Emotions - a Prospective Observational Study (EXPAN Study)

Many interventions in the field of meditation are becoming increasingly popular and have gained worldwide acceptance over the past years, both in terms of health, but also psychological aspects. On the other hand, controversial and sometimes hypercritical positions are on the rise, questioning the positive effects of meditation on health due to the limited availability of high-quality scientific data. With regard to a large number of meditation interventions, the systematic exploration of procedures that have not yet been scientifically evaluated - also in online settings - is a meaningful contribution to meditation research.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Meditation

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 374

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Germany
  • Berlin, Germany, 14109
    • Charite University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 99 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

- All persons registering for the online course

Description

Inclusion criteria:

• Age: 18 years or older
• All persons registering for the online course
• Internet access
• Sufficient language skills, as well as cognitive and physical abilities, to participate in an online survey lasting approximately 30 minutes
• Active consent to the online consent form

Exclusion criteria

- Failure to provide informed consent to participate in the study

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Meditation	Behavioral: Meditation; An online survey will be offered to participants who have enrolled in a 21-day meditation online course. The survey will be conducted using mobile website technology before and after the online course and additionally after 3 and 6 months.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quality of life, PROMIS-29 Profile v2.1	The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest level and 100 is the highest level.	Change from Baseline Quality of life at 1 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Quality of life, PROMIS-29 Profile v2.1	The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest level and 100 is the highest level.	Baseline, 3 months and 6 months
Global Health, PROMIS Scale v1.2	The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest level and 100 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Affect regulation, PANAS 10	The scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest level and 5 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Stress, PSS 4	The scale ranges from 0 to 16, where 0 is the lowest level and 16 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Flourishing, FS 8	The scale ranges from 8 to 56, where 8 is the lowest level and 56 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Resilience, CD-RISC 10	The scale ranges from 0 to 4, where 0 is the lowest level and 40 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Mysticism, HMS-8	The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest level and 100 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Self-efficacy, ASKU	The scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest level and 5 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Awe and Gratitude, GrAw-7	The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest level and 100 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Spirituality, ASP	The scale ranges from 0 to 100, where 0 is the lowest level and 100 is the highest level.	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Sedentary behavior	Duration in minutes	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Sporting activity	Duration in minutes	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Relaxation behavior	Duration in minutes	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Alcohol consumption	Assessed retrospectively (last 1 month) with self-designed question	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months
Cigarettes	Assessed retrospectively (last 1 month) with self-designed question	Baseline, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Qualitative interviews	1 month and 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Charite University, Berlin, Germany

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 5, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 17, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): October 17, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 10, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 25, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): July 6, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 1, 2023
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 27, 2023
• Last Verified: February 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Meditation
• Other Study ID Numbers: EXPAN

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No