Meditation involving people with cancer, medical staff and witnesses: a pilot study exploring improvement in wellness and connectedness.
BMJ Open November 12, 2021 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048164 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Non-randomised longitudinal pilot study (preintervention/postintervention survey) Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | People with cancer, medical staff, and witnesses (neither patients nor medical staff), equally distributed in two groups of 15 participants |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Duration | 12 weekly meditation sessions of 1.5 hours each |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Registration | NCT04410185 |
| Key findings | The authors propose that a 12-week mindfulness meditation programme adapted to people with cancer, medical staff, and witnesses will be feasible to deliver and will allow validation of evaluation tools and refinement of workshop modalities for a subsequent randomised study. They expect to demonstrate changes in stress, quality of life, personal effectiveness, mindfulness, and empathy, and to assess the added value of 'meditating together'. |
Abstract
Introduction: Mindfulness meditation is likely to promote better management of stress, pain and negative emotions. We propose to address the benefit of meditation in an open setting associating people with cancer (target population), medical staff and witnesses (neither patient nor medical staff). This study aims (1) to evaluate the effects of meditation on wellness improvement and (2) to identify criteria and modalities for a subsequent randomised study. Methods and analysis: We propose a longitudinal pilot study consisting of a non-randomised experimental preintervention/postintervention survey. The intervention consists in delivering a meditation programme (12 weekly meditation sessions of 1.5 hours each), specifically adapted to our target population and addressing our research hypothesis in an open setting involving people with cancer, medical staff and witnesses (equally distributed in two groups of 15 participants). The main objective is to evaluate participants’ adherence to the programme. The effects of meditation will be evaluated on stress, quality of life, feeling of personal effectiveness, on the development of mindfulness and empathy, and on satisfaction and perception of a change in quality of life. We will also measure the putative added value of ‘meditating together’. This study is expected to allow validating the evaluation tools and refining the modalities of the workshops. We expect to demonstrate the evolution that this meditation-based intervention induces in the participants. We aim to promote bridge-building, between patients, medical staff but also others. In this way, one’s own suffering may be understood in the light of others’ suffering, thereby promoting the sense of otherness and giving insights into ‘living better with’. This exploratory study will investigate the relevance of this hypothesis, which could then be explored by a randomised study. Ethics and dissemination: The protocol was approved by the local ethics committee (Comité de Protection des Personnes Est II). Trial findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number: NCT04410185 .
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Shared meditation involving cancer patients, health professionals and third persons is relevant and improves well-being: IMPLIC pilot study BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies May 18, 2022
- A randomised study to evaluate the potential added value of shared meditation involving people with cancer, health professionals and third persons compared to meditation conducted with patients only: design of the Implic-2 protocol. BMC cancer September 4, 2024
- The Experience of Shared Meditation Involving People With Cancer, Health Professionals and Third Persons: A Qualitative Focus-Group Study Integrative Cancer Therapies April 1, 2026
- Mindfulness Meditation: Building Interreligious Understanding and Harmony in Indonesia Journal of Social Innovation and Knowledge June 20, 2025
- Shared Meditation Involving Cancer Patients, Health Professionals and Third Persons: Perceptions of Participants Through a Focus Group Study Integrative Cancer Therapies July 15, 2023
Cites 5
- The Age‐Well randomized controlled trial of the Medit‐Ageing European project: Effect of meditation or foreign language training on brain and mental health in older adults Alzheimer's & Dementia 2018
- Examining the Occurrence and Clinical Impact of Difficult Experiences that Emerge during a Mindfulness-Based Intervention among Individuals at High-Risk of Suicide. Mindfulness June 18, 2024
- Unpleasant meditation-related experiences in regular meditators: Prevalence, predictors, and conceptual considerations PLoS One May 9, 2019
- Enhancing Clinicians' Well-Being and Patient-Centered Care Through Mindfulness. The Journal of continuing education in the health professions 2016
- Validation of a French version of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory - short version: relationships between mindfulness and stress in an adult population. BioPsychoSocial Medicine August 12, 2010