ArticleJMIR mental health2020
Testing the Efficacy of a Multicomponent, Self-Guided, Smartphone-Based Meditation App: Three-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial.
Article in JMIR mental health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 53 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Well-being and the Healthy Minds App Pilot (WHAP) Study
COVID-19 and the Healthy Minds Program for Educators II
Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effectiveness of second-generation mindfulness interventions on anxiety and depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical psychology review · 2026Pooled it
- The efficacy of mindfulness apps on symptoms of depression and anxiety: An updated meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Clinical psychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Meditation, mindfulness, and acceptance methods in psychotherapy: A systematic review.Psychotherapy research : journal of the Society for Psychotherapy Research · 2023Pooled it
- Factors Influencing Adherence to mHealth Apps for Prevention or Management of Noncommunicable Diseases: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Data Missing Not at Random in Mobile Health Research: Assessment of the Problem and a Case for Sensitivity Analyses.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Testing How Mindfulness Skills Change for Novice Meditators Using Headspace: Examining Trait Mindfulness and Perceived Stress as Moderators.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2026Trial
- Personalized prediction of response to three meditation practices: A randomized controlled trial.Behaviour research and therapy · 2026Trial
- Prevalence and Predictors of Self-Reported Adverse Experiences in Digital Meditation Training: 2 Randomized Controlled Trials.JMIR mental health · 2026Trial
- Meditation training and non-native language training both reduce older adults loneliness in the age-well randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Feasibility of a Mobile App-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregiver Stress.The Gerontologist · 2025Trial
- Does it matter how meditation feels? An experience sampling study.Journal of consulting and clinical psychology · 2024Trial
- Examining the Effects of a Brief, Fully Self-Guided Mindfulness Ecological Momentary Intervention on Empathy and Theory-of-Mind for Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mental health · 2024Trial
- How often should I meditate? A randomized trial examining the role of meditation frequency when total amount of meditation is held constant.Journal of counseling psychology · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Personalized Prediction of Response to Smartphone-Delivered Meditation Training: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Alliance With an Unguided Smartphone App: Validation of the Digital Working Alliance Inventory.Assessment · 2022Trial
- Symptom Worsening in Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Article
- Development and validation of single-item experience sampling measures of wellbeing in teens.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Sitting and Active Meditation Practice: Utilization and Associations with Outcomes in Naturalistic and Clinical Trial Data.Mindfulness · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundA growing number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) suggest psychological benefits associated with meditation training delivered via mobile health. However, research in this area has primarily focused on mindfulness, only one of many meditative techniques.
objectiveThis study aims to evaluate the efficacy of 2 versions of a self-guided, smartphone-based meditation app-the Healthy Minds Program (HMP)-which includes training in mindfulness (Awareness), along with practices designed to cultivate positive relationships (Connection) or insight into the nature of the self (Insight).
methodsA three-arm, fully remote RCT compared 8 weeks of one of 2 HMP conditions (Awareness+Connection and Awareness+Insight) with a waitlist control. Adults (≥18 years) without extensive previous meditation experience were eligible. The primary outcome was psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress). Secondary outcomes were social connection, empathy, compassion, self-reflection, insight, rumination, defusion, and mindfulness. Measures were completed at pretest, midtreatment, and posttest between October 2019 and April 2020. Longitudinal data were analyzed using intention-to-treat principles with maximum likelihood.
resultsA total of 343 participants were randomized and 186 (54.2%) completed at least one posttest assessment. The majority (166/228, 72.8%) of those assigned to HMP conditions downloaded the app. The 2 HMP conditions did not differ from one another in terms of changes in any outcome. Relative to the waitlist control, the HMP conditions showed larger improvements in distress, social connectedness, mindfulness, and measures theoretically linked to insight training (d=-0.28 to 0.41; Ps≤.02), despite modest exposure to connection- and insight-related practice. The results were robust to some assumptions about nonrandom patterns of missing data. Improvements in distress were associated with days of use. Candidate mediators (social connection, insight, rumination, defusion, and mindfulness) and moderators (baseline rumination, defusion, and empathy) of changes in distress were identified.
conclusionsThis study provides initial evidence of efficacy for the HMP app in reducing distress and improving outcomes related to well-being, including social connectedness. Future studies should attempt to increase study retention and user engagement.
trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04139005; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04139005.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.