An Innovative Mindfulness Program (IMP) for Enhancing Holistic Well-Being among People with Blindness or Visual Impairment
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Abstract
This study pursued three objectives: (1) to explore the challenges faced by people with blindness or visual impairment (BVI); (2) to develop an Innovative Mindfulness Program (IMP) grounded in the Theravāda Satipaṭṭhāna framework; and (3) to assess preliminary short-term changes in holistic well-being following participation in the program. A mixed-methods sequential exploratory design was used across three phases. Phase I comprised in-depth interviews with sixteen BVI adults at the Lighthouse for the Blind, Pathum Thani, Thailand, analyzed thematically within a descriptive phenomenological orientation, together with consultative interviews with nine scholar-specialists. In Phase II, the IMP was developed and validated by experts. Phase III used the 25-item Peaceful Well-Being Questionnaire in a single-group design, with the pretest administered immediately before the one-day program (08:00), the posttest immediately after it (16:00), and satisfaction ratings and interviews collected that same afternoon; all outcomes therefore represent immediate responses rather than evidence of sustained change. Overall well-being improved significantly (t(15) = −2.986, p = .009, dz = 0.75; Wilcoxon Z = 2.90, p = .004), with psychological well-being the only dimension to reach conventional significance (dz = 0.74, p = .010) and 13 of the 16 participants showing improvement. Participants described a broader understanding of mindfulness as awareness that could be practiced through eating, touching, listening, walking, and forgiving. The findings support the feasibility and acceptability of a non-visually designed, Theravāda-grounded program for BVI adults and suggest that its cultural and institutional context may have contributed to participants' experiences. Given the single-site, single-group design, absence of a control group and follow-up, and small sample (n = 16), the results are exploratory and do not support statistical generalization; a randomized controlled trial with follow-up is needed.
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