Using Implementation Reporting to Advance Culturally Sensitive and Equity-Focused Mindfulness Programs in Schools

We comment on the Baelen et al. article “Implementation Reporting Recommendations for School-Based Mindfulness Programs” (SBMPs). We describe reasons their work impresses us and why it makes a landmark contribution toward advancing the science of SBMPs. We then propose enhancing their framework by centering values of equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout their reporting recommendations. To warrant our proposal, we outline a three-step argument for advancing SBMPs as a pivotal practice for promoting mental health equity among youth who are marginalized. We then offer one substantive suggestion for operationalizing our proposal: expanding their recommendations to include additional reporting of researchers’ implementation orientations toward SBMPs, with explicit attention to the principles guiding their intervention adaptations. To support this suggestion, we provide examples of implementation orientations that intentionally center culturally sensitive and equity-focused adaptations. Ultimately, we hope our commentary encourages researchers to engage with the work of Baelen et al. and join us in supporting their reporting recommendations toward socially just ends.