Implementation of online mindfulness with peer mentoring for parent and sibling carers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Background

There is promising evidence for the adaptation of online mindfulness interventions for parent carers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities by including supplementary peer support sessions. However, there remain questions about wider implementation beyond the research setting and the inclusion of more diverse populations of family caregivers, including adult siblings and family carers who less typically receive support and are often under-represented in research.

Method

One hundred and one family carers (n = 58 parents, n = 43 adult siblings) were provided with access to Be Mindful (an online mindfulness intervention) with additional telephone peer mentor support. Participants were asked to complete baseline and follow-up questionnaires before and after the intervention in a pre-post pre-experimental design, and engagement with the intervention and peer support was examined.

Results

Recruitment was successful in targeting more diverse groups, including adult siblings. Intervention completion was low overall (n = 37). Parent and sibling carers made differing levels of progress with the intervention and peer support calls, although 81.8% of those who completed the intervention before the end of the project had also received all three support calls. Preliminary follow-up data, though with low retention, indicated improvements in psychological wellbeing for family carers over time.

Conclusions

The intervention and additional telephone-guided support were received well by family carers of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, although further work is needed to determine the feasibility of future implementation.