Shared meditation involving cancer patients, health professionals and third persons is relevant and improves well-being: IMPLIC pilot study
Virginie Prévost, Sophie Lefèvre‐Arbogast, Alexandra Leconte, C. Delorme, Sandrine Benoit, Titi Tran, Bénédicte Clarisse
BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies May 18, 2022 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-022-03599-w (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pilot study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Cancer patients, health professionals, and third persons |
| Duration | 12 weekly sessions of 1.5 hours and a half-day retreat |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Context archaeology Empathy Intervention counseling Clinical psychology Compassion Nursing Psychotherapist |
| Citations | 7 |
| Registration | NCT04410185 |
| Key points | A shared meditation program was feasible and acceptable, with high attendance and satisfaction, and participants reported significant improvements in stress, quality of life, self-efficacy, and mindfulness. |
Abstract
Background: Alleviating suffering and improving quality of life are universally shared goals. In this context, we implemented a pilot study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a mindfulness intervention in the form of meditation involving together cancer patients, health professionals, and third persons.
Methods: Two groups of 15 participants equally composed of patients, health professionals and third persons were constituted. A dedicated programme on mindfulness and compassion was constructed, including 12 weekly sessions of 1.5 h and a half-day retreat. Adherence and satisfaction with the programme were evaluated. All participants completed questionnaires on perceived stress, quality of life, mindfulness, empathy, and self-efficacy. Burnout was assessed in health professionals.
Results: Shared meditation was feasible as 70% of participants attended ≥ 80% of the 13 meditation sessions. Satisfaction with the programme was high (median satisfaction score: 9.1 out of 10) and all participants expressed positive attitudes towards shared meditation and a benefit on their global quality of life. Participants reported significant improvement in stress (p < 0.001), global quality of life (p = 0.004), self-efficacy (p < 0.001), and mindfulness skills (p < 0.001) from baseline to post-programme.
Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of a shared dedicated meditation programme in terms of participation and acceptability of participants. The measured benefits observed among participants furthermore justify the interest of a subsequent randomized study aiming to demonstrate the potential added value of shared meditation by promoting bridge-building between cancer patients, health professionals and others.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT04410185 . Registered on June 1, 2020.