MS Ireland is supporting a new research programme at NUI Galway, led by Professor Brian McGuire and Dr. Brian Slattery, that aims to develop an online version of a mindfulness programme for people living with MS. The programme is based on previous work in the UK by Dr. Angeliki Bogosian and Prof. Rona Moss-Morris who showed that the mindfulness programme was effective when delivered using Skype. Working with their colleagues in the UK, the team at NUI Galway will develop a version of the programme that will be delivered over the internet, so that people can access the programme whenever they want and can work at their own pace. The eight session programme will be delivered over eight weeks; one session per week. During the programme, participants will be educated about mindfulness, trained in various mindfulness techniques and given mindfulness homework so that they can practice and hone their skills.
To assess the impact of the programme, the researchers will ask participants some questions at the start and at the end of the study. Two main questions are of interest: 1) Does the online mindfulness programme improve people’s psychological wellbeing following their participation (i.e. do people feel emotionally more able to deal with their health difficulties and the other consequences that arise from them) and 2) How cost effective is the program? (i.e. is it financially worthwhile to run this programme and keep it going in the long term?).
It is hoped that the results of this research will improve the quality of life and emotional well-being of people living with MS. If the programme proves to be successful, the research team aims to make it free for people to use into the future.
Get in touch
Anyone interested to find out more about the study can contact Dr. Brian Slattery, School of Psychology, NUI Galway Tel. 091 495 832 or email brian.slattery@nuigalway.ie
MS Ireland has been able to provide funding for this exciting research programme thanks to the generosity of an individual donor.
Further reading
For latest updates on research in Ireland and internationally download MS Research eZine edition 2
To find out more about MS Ireland’s research priorities and how we support MS research, download our Research Strategy