Telephone-Delivered Mindfulness Training for People Living with HIV: A Qualitative 360° Inquiry

For people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA), life stress often undermines quality of life and interferes with medical care. Mindfulness training (MT) may help PLWHA to manage stress. Because standard MT protocols can be burdensome, we explored telephone delivery as a potentially more feasible approach. We used an innovative 360° qualitative inquiry to seek input regarding telephone-delivery of MT for PLWHA in advance of a planned intervention trial. We also sought input on a time- and attention-matched control. Twenty five HIV patients, providers and advocates, were recruited to five focus groups. Participants understood the construct of mindfulness and recognized its potential benefits for stress management and improving medication adherence. Patients preferred the term “mindfulness” to meditation. Telephone-delivery appealed to all patients but several challenges were raised. Topics for the control intervention included nutrition, sleep, and aging. The 360° approach allowed three groups (patients, providers, advocates) to influence intervention development.