Efficacy of a mindful compassion intervention on reducing pain catastrophizing and rumination in women with mobility disability: A randomized controlled trial
Sara Nooshazari, Anahita Khodabakhshi‐Koolaee, Mohammad Reza Falsafinejad
Preventive Care In Nursing and Midwifery Journal October 1, 2025 DOI: 10.61882/pcnm.15.2.3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental study with pre-test-post-test and control group Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Women with mobility disabilities at Kahrizak Charity Center, Iran |
| Intervention | Mindful compassion |
| Duration | 12 weekly 90-minute sessions |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Rumination Randomized controlled trial Psychological intervention Pain catastrophizing Intervention counseling Clinical psychology Physical therapy Coping psychology Self-compassion Social support Chronic pain Rehabilitation |
| Key findings | Mindful compassion significantly decreased pain catastrophizing and rumination among women with mobility disabilities. |
Abstract
Background: Living with mobility disabilities can be associated with psychological and social challenges.Certain interventions have been found to assist individuals with disabilities in coping with issues related to pain and rumination.Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mindful compassion in reducing pain catastrophizing and rumination among women with mobility disabilities.Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test-post-test design with a control group.Thirty women with mobility disabilities at Kahrizak Charity Center, Iran (2024), were voluntarily recruited and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups.The intervention consisted of 12 weekly 90-minute mindful compassion sessions.Data (RRS, PCS) were analyzed using multivariate and univariate covariance analyses in SPSS-24.Results: The results showed that mindful compassion significantly decreased pain catastrophizing among women with mobility disabilities (p < 0.01).Additionally, mindful compassion was found to significantly decrease rumination in these women (p < 0.01). Conclusion:Mindful compassion proves to be an effective intervention for reducing both psychological and physical challenges in women with mobility disabilities.This intervention may be considered a valuable therapeutic approach in conjunction with other medical and rehabilitation treatments. Implications for Nursing and Midwifery Preventive Care The findings highlight the importance of integrating mindfulness-and compassion-based interventions into preventive nursing and midwifery care for women with mobility disabilities. By addressing maladaptive cognitive patterns such as pain catastrophizing and rumination, these interventions may improve emotional regulation, rehabilitation adherence, and overall quality of life.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Experience of compassion-based practice in mindfulness for health for individuals with persistent pain. British Journal of Pain February 23, 2024
- Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for improving hope and happiness in men with visual impairment British Journal of Visual Impairment 2026
- Mindfulness Interventions in Physical Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy May 1, 2016
- Acceptance- and mindfulness-based interventions for the treatment of chronic pain: a meta-analytic review Cognitive Behaviour Therapy January 2, 2016
- A Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living Training in a Heterogeneous Sample of Psychiatric Outpatients: a Feasibility Study. Mindfulness 2016
and 2 more in the library