Effectiveness of Internet-Based Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Compared with Online Counseling Guidelines of the Ministry of Health on Reducing Negative Emotions during the SARS-COV-2 Pandemic : A Quasi-Experimental Study

In late 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The SARS-COV-2 pandemic is causing psychological impacts such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Concerning this situation, improvement in internet-based mental health services is necessary. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effectiveness of Internet-based Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (IMBSR) with the Online Counseling Guidelines of the Ministry of Health (OCGMH) in the reduction of depression, anxiety, and stress during the SARS-COV-2 pandemic.

 A quasi-experimental study with a two-group randomized controlled, pretest-posttest questioner was designed. Based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 84 participants were enrolled in the study that had contact with Ferdowsi University of Mashhad's Psychology and Counseling Clinic through online networks to complain about anxiety and distress caused by the coronavirus. Data analysis was performed using Independent sample t-test. both internet-based interventions (i.e., IMBSR and OCGMH) were executed by clinical psychologists.

The mean scores for stress, anxiety, and depression were significantly improved after both internet interventions (i.e., IMBSR and OCGMH). Further analysis showed that stress and anxiety significantly decreased in the IMBSR group compared to the OCGMH group (P<0.05). however, participants in the OCGMH group had a lower score of the depression index than that of the IMBSR group (P<0.05).

To summarize, IMBSR intervention improved the stress and anxiety during the quarantine of SARS-COV-2. Together these results provide important insights into internet-based interventions during pandemic situations. As a suggestion, advances in internet-based mental health services are necessary during the quarantine of diseases.