Developing Compassionate Self Care Skills in Persons Living with HIV: a Pilot Study to Examine Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy Feasibility and Acceptability

Abstract

Background: Self-care skills for persons living with HIV (PLWH) are needed to better cope with the common symptoms and emotional challenges of living with this chronic illness. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility and acceptability of Mindful Awareness in Body-oriented Therapy (MABT) for individuals receiving medical management for HIV at an outpatient program. Setting: A nonprofit outpatient day program that provided medical management to low-income individuals with HIV. Research Design: A one group pre–post study design, nine participants were recruited to receive eight weekly MABT sessions of 1.25 hours each. Intervention: MABT is designed to facilitate emotion regulation through teaching somaticallybased self-care skills to respond to daily stressors. Main Outcome Measures: To assess participant characteristics and study feasibility, a battery of health questionnaires and one week of wrist actigraphy was administered pre- and postintervention. A satisfaction survey and written questionnaire was administered postintervention to assess MABT acceptability. Results: The results demonstrated recruitment and retention feasibility. The sample had psychological and physical health symptoms that are characteristic of PLWH. MABT acceptability was high, and participants perceived that they learned new mind-body self-care skills that improved HIV symptoms and their ability to manage symptoms. Conclusion: The positive findings support a larger future study to examine MABT efficacy to improve coping with HIV symptoms among PLWH.