This study is testing a new brief mindfulness practice for people suffering from long COVID-19 symptoms. People suffering from long COVID are particularly vulnerable to negative emotions, as they must also cope with the long-term uncertainty of physical and psychological stress beyond the acute infection. The goal of the study is to measure the ability of a brief mindfulness practice to promote a sense of well-being in people suffering from long COVID.
A Study of Positive Emotions With Long COVID (Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS CoV-2 Infection)
This is a pilot randomized waitlist-controlled clinical trial (RCT) testing a new brief self-care intervention for people suffering from post-acute sequelae SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). The overarching goal of this study is to establish the feasibility and early efficacy of microdosing mindfulness as a self-care intervention. The purpose of the intervention is to promote a sense of well-being among PASC patients who currently have limited access to other proven self-care modalities.
Our research question is whether our newly developed training can assist PASC patients to self-microdose mindfulness (5-15 seconds activities in everyday life) and improve on perceived metrics of well-being (primary outcome). Our hypothesis is that self-microdosing mindfulness will evoke positive emotions that can improve well-being on patients suffering of PASC-related symptoms beyond 3 months post COVID-19 infection. If effective, an increased frequency of the mindfulness activity will then help buffer negative emotions (e.g., anger, loneliness, etc.) experienced during the pandemic and associated with ongoing stress and/or somatic symptoms.
