Exploring the Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy to Improve Emotional Wellbeing and Glycaemic Control Among Adults With Diabetes

This is a feasibility trial informed by the MRC guidelines. It is a small RCT, where participants are randomised to either the MBCT intervention or waiting list control. Participants will be receiving their diabetes care in Aberdeen and Glasgow, and randomisation will occur at each site. The participants who are allocated to the waiting list control group will receive the MBCT intervention 3 months after the intervention group complete their MBCT programme.

The investigators will recruit participants using posters and leaflets, word of mouth from diabetes professionals, and from writing to those who are eligible. All of these methods are simply to raise awareness of the study. The intervention requires considerable commitment from participants (as indicated below) and this will be fully explained and explored. It will be up to potential participants to make initial contact with the research team, at which point they will be invited to the diabetes outpatient clinic for a discussion about what the project entails, the nature of mindfulness, and to go through the usual consent procedure.

In the cases of those people who agree to participate, the investigators will write to their GP and to their diabetes consultant to let them know that their patient has enrolled in the study, and provide brief information about the project.

The MBCT intervention is manualised and delivered to groups. The aim of the MBCT intervention is to increase mindfulness skills and to facilitate their use in relation to emotional wellbeing and diabetes self-management. Participants will attend on 8 occasions, once per week, for 2 hours. These meetings will have a standard structure. First, participants will describe their efforts to practice mindfulness at home over the previous week, followed by discussion of an educational topic relevant to the aims of the course. Finally, the group will do a mindfulness practice together, and the home practice for the following week will be set. In-between meetings, participants are asked to practice mindfulness by listening to an audio file or CD for about 30 minutes per day.

The research assistants will administer brief, self-report inventories at baseline; post-treatment and at 3 months follow-up to establish participants' level of mindfulness (Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised);