The Effects of a Mindfulness Meditation Program on Quality of Life in Cancer Outpatients.
Author: Chang YY1,2, Wang LY3, Liu CY1,3, Chien TJ1,3, Chen IJ1,3, Hsu CH1,3,4
Affiliation:
11 Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
22 Department of Pharmacy Practice, Tri-Service General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
33 Branch of Linsen, Chinese Medicine and Kunming, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
44 School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
Conference/Journal: Integr Cancer Ther.
Date published: 2017 Feb 1
Other:
Volume ID: 1534735417693359 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1177/1534735417693359. [Epub ahead of print] , Word Count: 256
OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have investigated the efficacy of mindfulness meditation (MM) in managing quality of life (QoL) in cancer populations, yet only a few have studied the Asian population. The aim of this exploratory study is to evaluate the effect of a MM program on the QoL outcomes in Taiwanese cancer outpatients.
METHODS: Patients with various cancer diagnoses were enrolled and assigned to the MM group and usual care (UC) group. The meditation intervention consisted of 3 sessions held monthly. The outcomes of the whole intervention were measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) instrument.
RESULTS: A total of 35 participants in the MM group and 34 in the UC group completed the study. The results showed that the postintervention scores were significantly higher than the preintervention scores in the MM group. In the UC group, there was no significant difference between preintervention and postintervention scores, except for the lower environment domain scores. There was no significant difference between the follow-up scores and postintervention scores in the MM group, indicating that improvement can be maintained for 3 months after completing the MM course.
CONCLUSIONS: The present study provides preliminary outcomes of the effects on the QoL in Taiwanese cancer patients. The results suggest that MM may serve as an effective mind-body intervention for cancer patients to improve their QoL, and the benefits can persist over a 3-month follow-up period. This occurred in a diverse cancer population with various cancer diagnoses, strengthening the possibility of general use.
KEYWORDS: cancer; meditation; mind-body intervention; oncology; quality of life
PMID: 28627242 DOI: 10.1177/1534735417693359
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