Mindfulness and Existential Healing Interventions in Palliative Care for Patients with Advanced Cancer:A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Patients with advanced cancer frequently experience multidimensional suffering,including psychological distress,existential distress,and concerns related to death and dying.Mindfulness-based interventions and existential healing interventions have increasingly been applied in palliative care;however,the current evidence regarding their integration,intervention characteristics,and clinical applicability remains unclear.This scoping review aimed to systematically map the application of integrated mindfulness and existential healing interventions in palliative care for patients with advanced cancer,including their theoretical foundations,core components,implementation characteristics,reported outcomes,and feasibility,thereby providing evidence to inform the development of contextually appropriate interventions in clinical practice.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed,Embase,CINAHL,Web of Science Core Collection,China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),and Wanfang Database from June 2016 to June 2026.Two reviewers independently screened the retrieved records and extracted data.A descriptive analysis was performed to summarize the characteristics and findings of the included studies.

Results: Nine studies were included,comprising three studies published in Chinese and six studies published in English from countries including the United States,New Zealand,and China.The participants were primarily patients with advanced solid tumors receiving palliative or hospice care,with some studies involving family caregivers.Mindfulness-related interventions included mindfulness-based stress reduction,acceptance and commitment therapy,and mindfulness meditation training.Core practices involved body scanning,mindful breathing,meditation,and acceptance-based exercises.Existential healing-related interventions included meaning-centered psychotherapy,dignity therapy,and life review interventions,with key components focusing on meaning-making,life review,advance care planning,and spiritual support.Both intervention categories demonstrated potential benefits in reducing emotional distress and death anxiety and improving meaning in life,spiritual well-being,and quality of life.Several studies further indicated that mindfulness training may facilitate participation in advance care planning and improve family communication.

Conclusions: Mindfulness-based interventions and existential healing interventions share a common focus on addressing the existential needs of patients with advanced cancer and have shown an emerging trend toward integration.However,systematic and theoretically integrated mindfulness–existential healing interventions remain underdeveloped.Future research should focus on developing feasible,standardized,and theory-driven integrated intervention programs and evaluating their effectiveness in palliative care settings.