Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Jun 8, 2022
Open Peer Review Period: Jun 3, 2022 - Jul 29, 2022
Date Accepted: Oct 24, 2022
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Effect of an internet-delivered 4-week mindfulness-based cancer recovery intervention on the symptom burden and quality of life of breast cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) can improve breast cancer patients' symptoms and psychological well-being. However, traditional standard MBIs are an 8-week program delivered by face-to-face treatment, which may be inconvenient for cancer patients. Many attempts have been made to adapt MBIs to increase their accessibility for cancer patients while maintaining their therapeutic components and efficacy.
Objective:
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an internet-delivered 4-week mindfulness-based cancer recovery (iMBCR) program in reducing symptom burden and enhancing the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of breast cancer patients.
Methods:
A total of 103 stage 0 to Ⅳ postoperative breast cancer patients were randomly assigned to an iMBCR group (4-week internet-delivered MBCR; n = 51) or a control group (usual care and 4-week program of placebo information; n = 52). The study outcomes included symptom burden and HRQoL, as measured by the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast Cancer (FACT-B) Scale. All data were collected at baseline (T0), post-intervention (T1), and 1-month follow-up (T2). Data analysis followed the intention-to-treat principle. Linear mixed models were used to assess iMBCR effects over time.
Results:
Participants in the iMBCR group had significantly larger decreases in symptom burden than the control group at T1 (mean difference, -11.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], -16.99 to -6.36), and the decreases were maintained at T2 (mean difference, -11.83; 95% CI, -18.19 to -5.46). The HRQoL score in the iMBCR group had significantly larger improvements compared with the control group at T1 and T2 (mean difference, 6.66; 95% CI, 3.43 to 9.90 and 11.94; 7.56 to 16.32; respectively).
Conclusions:
Our preliminary findings suggested that the iMBCR program effectively improved the symptom burden and HRQoL of breast cancer patients. We highly recommend that healthcare professionals incorporate this program when providing psychosocial care to breast cancer patients. Clinical Trial: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2000038980; http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=62659
Citation
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