Aetna Delivers Evidence-based Mind-Body Stress Management Programs
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HARTFORD, Conn., February 23, 2012 — While stress is a near universal theme in people’s lives, for some, high or chronic stress can take a major toll on the mind and body. To help individuals deal with stress more effectively and to help employers reduce the impact of stress on their business, Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today the availability of two new mind-body stress reduction workplace programs – Mindfulness at Work™ (mindfulness meditation) and Viniyoga Stress Reduction (therapeutic Viniyoga). Developed and studied in a collaborative effort with Aetna, Duke Integrative Medicine, eMindful and the American Viniyoga Institute, these programs have helped participants significantly reduce their perceived stress levels while improving their ability to respond to stress. The Mindfulness at Work™ (mindfulness meditation) and Viniyoga Stress Reduction (therapeutic Viniyoga) programs were part of the “Mind-Body Stress Reduction in the Workplace” clinical trial, and the study results were published recently in the online version of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. Participants in the mind-body stress reduction treatment groups (mindfulness and Viniyoga) showed significant improvements in perceived stress with 36 and 33 percent decreases in stress levels respectively, as compared to an 18 percent reduction for the control group as measured with the Perceived Stress Scale. Participants in the mind-body interventions also saw significant improvements in various heart rate measurements, suggesting that their bodies were better able to manage stress. The study results were demonstrated using these new programs that are about half the length of other commonly used mind-body interventions. Building on the success of the study, both programs are now available to Aetna’s self-insured commercial customers. “Stress can have a significant impact on physical and mental health, so there is a strong need for programs that help people reduce stress as part of achieving their best health,” said Aetna Chairman and CEO Mark T. Bertolini. “The results from the mind-body study provide evidence that these mind-body approaches can be an effective complement to conventional medicine and may help people improve their health, something that I have experienced personally.” Importantly, among all individuals who were screened for the study, those reporting the highest stress level (top quintile) had nearly $2,000 higher medical costs for the preceding year than those reporting the lowest stress levels. “The connection between higher stress levels and higher medical costs is logical. Highly stressed individuals are at greater risk for many different health conditions, such as coronary heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, depression and anxiety, and obesity,” said Dr. Ruth Q. Wolever, Director of Research and Clinical Health Psychologist at Duke Integrative Medicine and Principal Investigator on the study. “Reducing stress can help reduce the risk for associated health conditions and points to the potential in helping reduce overall health care costs.” Mindfulness at Work™ and Viniyoga Stress Reduction Programs The study analyzed the impact of the Mindfulness at Work™ program in two different settings with the same content. While one group received in-person instruction, the other group accessed the program through a virtual online classroom that used video, audio and instant messaging chat. The study showed statistically equivalent results between the online mindfulness classes and in-person delivery, and retention was better in the online classes. The Viniyoga Stress Reduction program is a 12-week therapeutic yoga-based program developed by American Viniyoga Institute founder Gary Kraftsow. Participants received instruction for managing stress including physical yoga postures, breathing techniques, guided relaxation and mental skills. The classes also provided coping strategies for dealing with stressful events and promoted use of home and office strategies for reducing stress through yoga. The program offered weekly in-person classes, home practice handouts and yoga break handouts for home and office use. The study participants included 239 Aetna employees in California and Connecticut who volunteered for the two mind-body stress reduction programs. As part of the studies, 96 employees were randomly assigned to mindfulness-based classes, 90 were randomly assigned to therapeutic yoga classes and 53 were randomly assigned to the control group. Since the study concluded in 2010, Aetna has expanded the availability of the programs to all Aetna employees nationwide. In addition, Aetna began implementing the mind-body stress reduction programs with several customers and has received strong interest from other customers in a wide range of sectors, including financial services and health care service providers. “We have seen first-hand how these mind-body programs have helped our employees deal with stress more effectively and help them achieve better overall health,” said Elease Wright, head of Human Resources at Aetna. “We are excited to offer these programs to more Aetna employees and are confident that our customers that implement the mind-body programs will see similar results with their employees and lower costs associated with stress.” About Aetna About eMindful About Duke Integrative Medicine About American Viniyoga Institute |
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