Increasing provider awareness of and recommendations for yoga and meditation classes for cancer patients.
Mallory J Koula, Jennifer M Knight
Supportive Care in Cancer May 4, 2018 DOI: 10.1007/s00520-018-4220-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pre-post survey study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 40 |
| Population | Healthcare providers in breast, gynecologic, radiation, and surgical oncology settings |
| Duration | 5-minute presentation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Neoplasms Complementary therapies Yoga Awareness Counseling Education, professional Adult Middle aged Health personnel Nurse practitioners Referral and consultation Female Surveys and questionnaires Practice patterns, physicians' Cancer Oncology Providers |
| Key findings | A brief five-minute educational presentation increased oncology providers' knowledge and intention to recommend yoga and meditation: 90% said they would be more likely to recommend these services, and the proportion strongly believing yoga and meditation can provide physical or emotional benefits rose from 65% to 85%. At baseline, 43% were unaware the cancer center offered such classes and 55% rarely or never recommended them. |
Abstract
Objective: The purpose of the current study was to (1) assess healthcare providers' beliefs about and referral patterns to yoga and meditation services, and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of a brief yoga/meditation educational presentation to increase providers' intent to recommend these programs.
Method: A brief 5-min presentation regarding the benefits of yoga and meditation for cancer patients and instruction about referring and enrolling patients was delivered in four different oncology settings: breast, gynecologic, radiation, and surgical. Healthcare provider participants filled out pre- and post-surveys assessing knowledge and attitudes surrounding yoga and meditation classes.
Results: A total of 40 healthcare providers were surveyed, consisting of 18 physicians, 12 nurses, six nurse practitioners, two physician assistants, one pharmacist, and one clinical researcher. Of these 40 healthcare providers, 43% were unaware at baseline that yoga and meditation classes were offered through the cancer center and 55% responded that they rarely or never recommend yoga or meditation for patients. Following a brief presentation about the benefits of yoga and meditation for cancer patients, 90% of providers stated they would be more likely to recommend these services to patients in the future. There was a significant (p < 0.01) increase in providers from pre- to post-presentation (65 to 85%) stating they strongly believe yoga and meditation can provide physical or emotional benefits for their patients. Significance of
Results: These data demonstrate that a brief educational intervention about yoga and meditation for cancer patients is effective at significantly increasing provider knowledge about the benefits of these therapeutic modalities, with a majority indicating they are more likely to recommend these services in the future. Increasing provider awareness regarding the health-promoting benefits of such supportive services for cancer patients could result in greater service utilization as well as physical and emotional benefits for patients.
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 2
Cites 5
- A Randomized, Wait-List Controlled Clinical Trial: The Effect of a Mindfulness Meditation-Based Stress Reduction Program on Mood and Symptoms of Stress in Cancer Outpatients Psychosomatic Medicine September 1, 2000
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a Stress Management Intervention for Healthy Individuals Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine July 22, 2014
- Comparison of Two Types of Meditation on Patients' Psychosocial Responses During Radiation Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine May 2017
- Mindfulness-based interventions for coping with cancer. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 2016
- Effect of mindfulness based stress reduction on immune function, quality of life and coping in women newly diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity August 2008