The effect of 5‐min mindfulness of love on suffering and spiritual quality of life of palliative care patients: A randomized controlled study

Abstract

Objective Suffering is a common experience in palliative care. In our study, we aimed to determine the effect of 5‐min mindfulness of love on suffering and the spiritual quality of life of palliative care patients. Methods We conducted a parallel‐group, blinded, randomized controlled study at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Malaysia from February 2019 to April 2019. Sixty adult palliative care patients with an overall suffering score of 4/10 or above based on the Suffering Pictogram were recruited and randomly assigned to either the 5‐min mindfulness of love group (N = 30) or the 5‐min supportive listening group (N = 30). Results There were statistically significant improvements in the overall suffering score (mean difference = −2.9, CI = −3.7 to −2.1, t = −7.268, p = 0.000) and the total FACIT‐Sp‐12 score (mean difference = 2.9, CI = 1.5 to 4.3, t = 4.124, p = 0.000) in the intervention group compared to the control group. Conclusion The results provided evidence that 5‐min mindfulness of love could affect the actual state of suffering and the spiritual quality of life of palliative care patients.

Mindfulness on Symptom Control and Quality of Life in Patients in Palliative Care: A Systematic Review

“…There was no significant difference in the peace subscale between the MBI group and the control group. 8 In Lim et al's, 9 in the MBI group, vs control group, there were improvements in the overall suffering score (P < .001), the total suffering score (P = .007), and the spiritual QOL (P < .001). The latter was due to greater reductions in worry (P = .027), anger (P = .047), non-acceptance (P = .018), and emptiness (P = .047).…”

“…The overall risk of bias was low to moderate (see Figure 2). The allocation sequence of the studies was considered of low risk, as the randomization was done by either using computergenerated random numbers, [6][7][8][9] minimization randomization, 10 or blocked randomization. 3,11 Teo et al 12 had 2 different randomization processes: blocked randomization for the intervention and sequenced opaque envelopes for the waitlist control condition.…”

“…More than half of the studies used an allocation concealment method; 3,7-9,12 and the remaining did not provide any information. 6,10,11 Lim et al 9 was the only blinded trial. Bower et al 11 stated that the unblinded nature of the assignment allocation constitutes a limitation in their trial.…”

Mindfulness-based supportive therapy on reducing suffering in patients with advanced cancer: randomised controlled trial

“…During the supportive listening sessions, the doctors interviewed patients with the same open-ended questions as in box 1, listened to patients attentively, without judgement or interruption, and acknowledged patient distress when it was appropriate. Supportive listening was set as a control group because 5–20 min of supportive listening has been shown to reduce suffering among palliative care patients 16 19 22 23. The instructions on delivering the supportive listening session are presented in box 1.…”

“…Mindfulness-based interventions, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, have been shown to improve pain, stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia 11–15. In the palliative care setting, brief mindfulness exercises lasting 5–20 min have been studied and found to reduce stress, distress, suffering, dyspnoea, anxiety, depression and spiritual distress 16–23…”