Stress-reducing effects of a brief mindfulness intervention in palliative care: Results from a randomised, crossover study
Objective Mindfulness-based interventions are a widely used and highly accepted adjunct treatment in oncology. Due to a paucity of research in advanced cancer and other terminal illnesses, we aimed to evaluate the stress-reducing effects of a brief, standardised mindfulness intervention for use in p...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
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| In: |
European journal of cancer care
Year: 2020, Volume: 29, Issue: 4, Pages: 1-10 |
| ISSN: | 1365-2354 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/ecc.13249 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1111/ecc.13249 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecc.13249 
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| Author Notes: | Marco Warth, Friederike Koehler, Corina Aguilar-Raab, Hubert J. Bardenheuer, Beate Ditzen, Jens Kessler |
| Summary: | Objective Mindfulness-based interventions are a widely used and highly accepted adjunct treatment in oncology. Due to a paucity of research in advanced cancer and other terminal illnesses, we aimed to evaluate the stress-reducing effects of a brief, standardised mindfulness intervention for use in palliative care. Methods This study was a randomised, crossover trial where patients participated in both a single mindfulness intervention and a resting state control condition. The order of the conditions was randomised. Study outcomes encompassed self-report data on stress and well-being and measures of heart rate variability. All outcome data were measured at four times per day. Results Forty-two patients participated in this study. We found significantly stronger reductions in self-rated stress and mean heart rate as well as an increase in heart rate variability after the mindfulness intervention. Psychophysiological effects were strongest in the immediate pre- to post-intervention comparison, while the effect on subjective stress persisted after 20 to 40 min. No significant differences were found for self-rated well-being. Conclusions Despite the rather small magnitude of effects, the brief mindfulness intervention showed to be effective and accepted by patients in very advanced stages of a disease and could be offered by trained healthcare professionals in palliative care. |
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| Item Description: | First published: 21 May 2020 Gesehen am 05.01.2022 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1365-2354 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/ecc.13249 |