Meditation in an academic medical institution to improve student mental health: a pilot study
- 1Department of Student Mental Health, Advocacy and Wellness, Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, Shreveport, LA, United States
Abstract
Introduction: : Anxiety is common among graduate and professional students. Meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety symptoms, and virtual reality (VR)-guided meditation has emerged as a more immersive approach that may increase engagement. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, adherence, and preliminary anxiety outcomes associated with VR-guided and audio-guided meditation among health professions students.
Methods: Feasibility was assessed using recruitment, enrollment, retention, assessment completion, intervention delivery, and attendance-data capture. Adherence was defined as the number of QR-code-recorded meditation-session attendances during the 8-week intervention. Anxiety outcomes were assessed using the GAD-7. Within-group changes were examined using paired t tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and between-group differences in change scores were explored with an independent-samples t test. Spearman correlation analysis examined the association between attendance and reduction in anxiety.
Results: Thirty-five students were assessed for eligibility, 22 were randomized, and all completed the intervention and post-intervention assessment. Both modalities were delivered as planned, and 226 session attendances were recorded. Participants in the VR condition completed a mean of 12.00 recorded sessions (SD = 5.42; range, 1–17), corresponding to 75.0% of the prescribed minimum, whereas participants in the audio-guided condition completed a mean of 8.55 sessions (SD = 5.22; range, 1–18), corresponding to 53.4% of the prescribed minimum. GAD-7 scores decreased significantly within both groups. A linear mixed-effects model demonstrated a significant main effect of time (z = 6.80, p < .001) but no significant Condition×Time interaction (z = −0.28, p = .783). Consistent with this finding, the difference in change scores between groups was not significant, t(20) = 0.27, p = .786, Cohen's d = 0.12. Recorded attendance was not associated with improvement in GAD-7 scores.
Conclusion: Both meditation modalities were successfully implemented, and all participants completed the study. Recorded attendance was greater in the VR condition; however, adherence varied substantially, and attendance was measured through check-in records only. Anxiety symptoms decreased in both groups, but the absence of a control group and small pilot sample preclude conclusions regarding efficacy or equivalence.
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BibTeX
@article{morgan2026meditation,
title = {{Meditation in an academic medical institution to improve student mental health: a pilot study}},
author = {Marie Vazquez Morgan and Suzanne Tinsley},
journal = {Frontiers in Digital Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fdgth.2026.1957495},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2026.1957495},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Meditation in an academic medical institution to improve student mental health: a pilot study
AU - Marie Vazquez Morgan
AU - Suzanne Tinsley
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Frontiers in Digital Health
DO - 10.3389/fdgth.2026.1957495
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2026.1957495
AB - Introduction: : Anxiety is common among graduate and professional students. Meditation has been shown to reduce anxiety symptoms, and virtual reality (VR)-guided meditation has emerged as a more immersive approach that may increase engagement. This pilot study evaluated the feasibility, adherence, and preliminary anxiety outcomes associated with VR-guided and audio-guided meditation among health professions students. Methods: Feasibility was assessed using recruitment, enrollment, retention, assessment completion, intervention delivery, and attendance-data capture. Adherence was defined as the number of QR-code-recorded meditation-session attendances during the 8-week intervention. Anxiety outcomes were assessed using the GAD-7. Within-group changes were examined using paired t tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and between-group differences in change scores were explored with an independent-samples t test. Spearman correlation analysis examined the association between attendance and reduction in anxiety. Results: Thirty-five students were assessed for eligibility, 22 were randomized, and all completed the intervention and post-intervention assessment. Both modalities were delivered as planned, and 226 session attendances were recorded. Participants in the VR condition completed a mean of 12.00 recorded sessions (SD = 5.42; range, 1–17), corresponding to 75.0% of the prescribed minimum, whereas participants in the audio-guided condition completed a mean of 8.55 sessions (SD = 5.22; range, 1–18), corresponding to 53.4% of the prescribed minimum. GAD-7 scores decreased significantly within both groups. A linear mixed-effects model demonstrated a significant main effect of time (z = 6.80, p < .001) but no significant Condition×Time interaction (z = −0.28, p = .783). Consistent with this finding, the difference in change scores between groups was not significant, t(20) = 0.27, p = .786, Cohen's d = 0.12. Recorded attendance was not associated with improvement in GAD-7 scores. Conclusion: Both meditation modalities were successfully implemented, and all participants completed the study. Recorded attendance was greater in the VR condition; however, adherence varied substantially, and attendance was measured through check-in records only. Anxiety symptoms decreased in both groups, but the absence of a control group and small pilot sample preclude conclusions regarding efficacy or equivalence.
SN - 2673-253X
ER -