Spirituality Studies 11 Phan Thi Tho et al. The semi-structured interview protocol was developed to elicit rich, reflective responses from participants, with an emphasis on practical and philosophical dimensions relevant to the development of the WPRM. Interview questions were organized around four principal domains: 1. Recommendations regarding the appropriate duration of the program to facilitate meaningful psychological and behavioral transformation. 2. Perspectives on the ideal composition and balance among various meditative practices, including seated meditation, walking meditation, alternative postures, and mindfulness of daily activities. 3. Suggestions for incorporating auxiliary elements such as Dhamma talks, individual consultation sessions, and tea meditation to enhance participant engagement. 4. Identifying contextual and environmental factors that support the continuity and depth of meditative practice during intensive retreat settings. All interviews were audio-recorded with participant consent and transcribed verbatim to ensure data fidelity. The transcripts were subsequently analyzed using a reflective thematic analysis, allowing salient themes to emerge inductively from the data. This method was selected to preserve the contextual richness and interpretive depth characteristic of spiritually grounded and experience-based knowledge systems. Rather than imposing a rigid a priori coding framework, the analysis emphasized openness to emergent meaning structures embedded in the participants’ narratives. Particular attention was given to integrating doctrinal understanding and practical application within the mindfulness tradition. Themes such as the necessity of individualized instruction for novice practitioners and the centrality of Dhamma talks in sustaining motivation were among the recurring insights and were systematically incorporated into the intervention design. To enhance analytical credibility, the emergent themes and their application within the intervention model were subjected to periodic peer debriefings with researchers experienced in mindfulness-based interventions. This collaborative process served both to triangulate findings and to maintain epistemological sensitivity to the non-reductionist nature of contemplative and spiritual discourse. 3.3 Quantitative Research The quantitative phase adopted a single-group pretest-posttest pre-experimental design to assess the impact of the WPRM. A total of sixty participants were recruited in accordance with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria required participants to (1) voluntarily consent to participate by signing an informed consent form; (2) hold Vietnamese nationality; (3) commit to full participation throughout the retreat period; (4) be between 25 and 45 years of age; (5) have prior experience with mindfulness of breathing meditation; (6) demonstrate the ability to engage in both sitting and walking meditation for a minimum of thirty minutes per session; (7) possess good physical health without any chronic medical conditions or psychological disorders; and (8) have experienced no significant bereavement (i.e., loss of a close family member) within the past six months. Participants who did not meet these criteria were excluded from the study. Sample size rationale. As a feasibility study, the primary purpose was to evaluate acceptability, adherence, and retention and to estimate the magnitude of immediate pre–post change to inform a future controlled trial. We nevertheless conducted an a priori planning calculation for a paired pre-post comparison of difference scores assuming a medium effect dz = 0.5 and two-tailed α = 0. 05. Depending on the power level selected, the required sample ranges from approximately n ≈ 44 (90% power) to n ≈ 54 (95% power). We targeted sixty participants to exceed either threshold, allow for attrition, and improve the precision of pre-post estimates.
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