Meditation and Its Effect on Chronic Physical Illnesses among Medical Outpatients at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka

Objective: Assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices about meditation and its effect on chronic physical illnesses among patients attending medical outpatient clinics at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka.

Results: The population mean age was 61 and 110 (46%) practised meditation. Buddhists practised different forms of meditation whereas people following other religions mainly concentrated on God as their predominant form of meditation. The majority (87.4%) who meditated were not formally trained. Approximately two thirds (60%) of the cohort showed a significant interest in being formally trained. More people believed meditation can help control psychiatric illnesses compared to physical illnesses (79% vs. 56.7%). Female patients who had at­tended religious schools tended to believe in meditation more.

Conclusions: Almost half of the sample patient population (46%) practised meditation of some form. The majority of the cohort was not trained in meditation but showed interest in pursuing meditation as a means of adjunctive therapy for their chronic physical diseases.