The effect of an in-person mindfulness program on compassion in nursing care among undergraduate nursing students
Mohadese Basirat, Seyedeh Narjes Mousavizadeh, Mahdie Ghalenoee, Malihe Nasiri
BMC Nursing August 24, 2026 DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05242-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 87 |
| Population | Undergraduate nursing students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences |
| Intervention | Mindfulness program |
| Duration | Eight-session program over four weeks |
| Measures | Compassionate Care Scale |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Compassion scores improved significantly within the intervention group after the mindfulness program, including all subscales of communication, sensitivity, and insight, though between-group differences were not statistically significant. No significant changes were seen in the control group. |
Abstract
Abstract Background and
Objective: Compassion is a central value in nursing, involving humanity, empathy, love, and wisdom. As nursing is closely tied to care, students’ clinical experiences shape their compassionate skills. Mindfulness improves self-awareness and may foster compassion. This study aimed to examine the effect of an in-person mindfulness program on compassion among undergraduate nursing students.
Method: This quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test study was conducted with 87 nursing students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Both groups first completed a demographic form and the Compassionate Care Scale. The intervention group then received an eight-session mindfulness program over four weeks, while the control group received no training. Afterward, both groups again completed the scale, and results were analyzed.
Results: After the intervention, compassion scores increased more in the intervention group than in the control group, though overall differences were not statistically significant. Within the intervention group, however, compassion scores improved significantly (P < 0.001), including all subscales of communication, sensitivity, and insight. No significant changes were seen in the control group.
Conclusion: Mindfulness can enhance compassion in nursing students, particularly in its subscales, even if overall changes are gradual. Integrating tailored mindfulness programs into education may strengthen compassionate nursing care. Trial registration . The current study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Midwifery of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences on 2024/03/11 with the registration code IR.SBMU.PHARMACY.REC.1402.316. In addition, the study protocol was registered with the Iranian Clinical Trial Registration Center on 2024/12/09 under the code IRCT20241017063399N1.
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 8
- Mindfulness and Compassion: An Examination of Mechanism and Scalability PLoS One February 17, 2015
- Mindfulness‐based stress reduction for psychological distress among nurses: A systematic review Journal of Clinical Nursing July 3, 2019
- Mindfulness and compassion training on daily work with patients and within the multiprofessional palliative care team: a retrospective self-assessment study BMC Palliative Care April 10, 2023
- The impact of a mindful compassion program for medical trainees. BMC Medical Education July 1, 2025
- Implementing Brief Mindfulness-Based Interventions to Reduce Compassion Fatigue. Critical Care Nurse October 1, 2023
and 3 more in the library