Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy on Healthy Quality of Life in Women with Breast Cancer

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) in promoting quality of life in Neyshabur women with breast cancer. Methods: This study was an interventional design that was conducted on 124 women with breast cancer (any stage) in Iran 2018. One hundred and fourteen women with breast cancer were paired by age and randomized to either 12-week MBAT intervention group or a wait-list-control group. One hundred and fourteen women with breast cancer completed both the pre-and post-study measurements. As compared to the control group, the MBAT group demonstrated a significant decrease in symptoms of distress and significant improvements in key aspects of the health-related quality of life (as measured by the World Health Organization Quality-of-Life - BREF questionnaire). Results: The MBAT interventions had a significant effect on improving quality of life behaviors ( P < 0.05). Among the dimensions of quality of life, the highest mean score was for subpsychological (18.14 ± 2.35), and the lowest score was achieved by the subdomains of social relationships (13.54 ± 1.12). The mean (standard deviation) scores of physical health and environment were 17.19 ± 3.55 and 16.10 ± 1.87, respectively. Conclusions: This investigation of MBAT provides initial encouraging data that support a possible future role for the intervention as a psychosocial option for decrease in symptoms of women with breast cancer and quality of life.

The effects of art therapy on anxiety, depression, and quality of life in adults with cancer: a systematic literature review

“…Six out of seven papers included more than 50 patients. Three studies focused on female cancer patients only [22][23][24]. In the remaining articles, patents with a variety of cancer diagnoses were included.…”

“…Jalambadani et al [22] Jalambadani and Borji [22] investigated Neyshabur women with breast cancer visiting the Razavi Hospital of Mashhad City, Iran. They conducted twelve weekly mindfulness-based art therapy (MBAT) sessions, lasting on average 90 min.…”

Mindfulness‐based arts interventions for cancer care: A systematic review of the effects on wellbeing and fatigue

“…Thirteen studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in this review: eight RCTs 2,25,27,28,43–46 and five QE studies 12,47–50 . There was a lack of rigor in the reviewed RCTs, with five of the RCTs identified as pilot studies 2,27,43,44,46 . Six of the RCTs had a passive control group with a wait‐list option, and only two had an active control group 25,44 .…”

“…All of the studies focused on patients with cancer except for one. Two studies included women 12 or men/women 49 with advanced cancer, one included women who had any type of cancer, 2 and nine included women with breast cancer or breast cancer survivors 25,26,28,43,44,46–48,50 . Jang and colleagues 45 were the only group to study an MBAI outside of oncology and focused on patients with coronary artery disease.…”

“…The group interventions ranged from 8 to 12 sessions, 2,25,26,28,44,45,49 with two group interventions taking place in a retreat format 47,50 . Although four studies did not cite a theoretical underpinning for the intervention/study, 12,43,48,50 five studies were informed by self‐regulation theory, 2,25,28,44,45 and the remainder were guided by various perspectives such as a mindful movement conceptual framework, 26 Antonovsky theory of salutogenic stress response/Rogers' theory of creativity, 49 Csikszentmihalyi's theory of flow, 46 and an analytic psychology perspective 47 …”