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Based on this unit’s assigned reading from Bonita, Beaglehole, & Kjellström, how would you design a study that attempts to determine if focused meditation can reduce a person’s heart rate? Describe the study design you would use. Also, identify a potential error and ethical issue that might be relevant

Jonathan Wright posted Oct 24, 2021 8:50

From the reading of Bonita, Beaglehole & Kiellstrom, we learn about different types of studies. Within so many options, I would choose an analytical study or correlational research approach. Correlational research refers to a non-experimental research method which studies the relationship between two variables. An analytical study such as this goes further by analyzing relationships between health status and other variables (Bonita, Beaglehole, & Kiellstrom-WHO 2006). I would find a group of 50 people within the same age and find the average heart rate amongst those. My two variables would separate the population of non-mediators and mediators. I would begin to take everyone’s blood pressure and heart rate two minutes before and after meditation (basic vital signs should be used, as we can find different heart rates with increased blood pressure). I would allow 30 minutes of meditation in single solitary rooms (maybe monitor the meditation of each person, sound controlled). Each participant would participate in the rotation twice, to ensure variable A and B. If the time is allowed during this designed study, I could also add an EKG study during meditation to provide accurate flowing heart rate. I believe one major error I could run into would be that some of the population could argue that meditation is a sacred evolution that requires their own type of meditation. So, it would be hard to really determine their steady heart rate process, but I believe overall this experiment would get a general idea if mediation can lower a population heart rate.

Peng C. K., Henry I. C., Mietus J. E., Hausdorff J. M., Khalsa G., Benson H., et ak. (2004). Heart rate dynamics during three forms of meditation.

After reading this week’s reading selections, I think a randomized controlled trial would be how I design a study to attempt to determine if focused meditation can reduce a person’s heart rate. I would randomly select a group for 24 individuals, with 14 being in two separate groups. A particular intervention, such as focused meditation, is studied in a randomized controlled trial to analyze the affects (Bonita et al., 2006). I plan to conduct a pre-meditation anxiety test to form my two groups. A meditation session that included repetition of the cardiovascular testing plus the mindfulness meditation 20 minutes introductory meditation, 30 minutes body scan and 10 minutes self-guided meditation as well as repeating cardiovascular measurements immediately following meditation and 60 minutes after. A random subset of the population, excluding individuals who do not fit the criteria for the study, is separated into two groups (Bonita et al., 2006). The two groups are the control group, with no intervention, and the group with the intervention of focused meditation (Bonita et al., 2006). Those two groups would each then be divided in half, one half having a high heart rate and the other half having a low heart rate (Bonita et al., 2006). The differences of each set of groups will then be compared and a null hypothesis will either be proven or disproven. I would complete a body scan on everyone to show the effects mediation has on the entire body. A post mediation anxiety test would be performed to compare the pre-mediation levels. A potential error of this study would be that outside factors such as nervousness of being a part of the study could be affecting heart rate of participants.

Bonita, R., Beaglehole, R., & Kjellström, T. (2006). Basic Epidemiology (2nd ed.). World Health Organization. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/43…