WORKSHOP Friday, May 26, 1:30-3:00
Using Mind-Body Skills Education to Crate Research
Opportunities
Speakers: Michael D Lumpkin, PhD, Hakima Amri, PhD, Pamela
Saunders, PhD, Rita Benn, PhD, Claudia Finkelstein, MD, Anne Nedrow,
MD
One of the outcomes of the increased interest
and focus on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in allopathic
medical schools is the introduction of mind-body (M-B) skills as both
an educational and research exercise. A number of academic medical centers
have been the recipients of NIH R25 CAM education grants and a significant
subset of these has adopted the use and study of mind-body methods as
a part of their CAM education initiatives. The presenters in this workshop
have largely adopted a wide mix of mind-body methods that includes biofeedback,
meditation, guided imagery, breath control, body movement and music.
The introduction of these mind-body skills has been used to promote
stress management, self-awareness, self-care, and cultural change. The
individuals to whom these approaches were introduced were usually medical
students, health professions students, faculty, and in some cases, patients
were the intended audience. Some of these mind-body programs have extended
the teaching and educational aspects of mind-body experientials into
research projects. Members of this workshop have studied various aspects
of the impact of mind-skills on their participants.
This workshop is meant to highlight which members
of the health science community have benefited from the utilization
of mind-body medicine techniques; how the benefits were assessed in
both a quantitative and qualitative fashion; and what behavioral and
physiological parameters were and can be meaningfully collected and
evaluated. From these starting points, the main goal of the workshop
is to identify the research opportunities offered by the conduct of
mind-body skills groups for stressed medical center populations. Specific
areas that will be considered are which behavioral and physiological
parameters should be measured; which survey instruments are most appropriate;
what constitutes the best control subjects for M-B studies; which statistical
methods should be employed for this type of research paradigm; how such
studies may be conducted across institutions; and in what directions
M-B skills research should proceed.
This workshop is organized to provide brief,
succinct presentations by each speaker to identify the progress made
thus far in each of the M-B programs. Each of the 5 presenters will
give a ten minute talk describing their current experience and results
from their M-B activities. The target audience is any health professional,
scientist, or educator interested in the uses and efficacy of mind-body
medicine. Following the individual presentations, the chair of the session
will first invite exchanges between the speakers. This will be followed
by an invitation from the chair for audience members to contribute to
the discussion. The chair will guide the discussion in the direction
of how M-B educational programs can be utilized to study research questions
in the field of M-B medicine.