The Effect of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction on Parents of Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Parents of children with chronic diseases often report increased level of stress and anxiety. Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic debilitating conditions with significant implications of both patients and parents. Thus, there is a necessity to address the stress and anxiety derived from parenting a child with IBD.

Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one's attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment,which can be developed through the practice of meditation and other training. Clinical studies have documented both physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness in different patient categories as well as in healthy adults and children.

The aim of the study is to assess the effect of mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on stress and anxiety of parents of children with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The intervention is consisted of 8 group sessions managed by a certified psychologist. 30 parents will participate in 4 separated courses. The efficacy of the intervention will be assessed by 3 validated questionnaires which will be filled by each participant prior to intervention, at the end of intervention and 3 months following interventions: Profile of mood states (POMS), The brief symptom inventory (BSI) and perceived stress scale (PSS). Differences in questionnaires' scores will be analyzed.