A qualitative study of self‐perceived effects of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) in a psychosocial oncology setting

Abstract

Quantitative research has shown Mindfulness‐based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programmes can reduce mood disturbance, improve quality of life, and decrease stress symptoms of cancer patients. However, the range of subjective effects experienced by programme participants has not been clearly described. Nine cancer patients who had participated in an 8‐week MBSR programme through the Tom Baker Cancer Centre's Department of Psychosocial Resources, and who continued to attend weekly drop‐in MBSR sessions were interviewed for this study. Qualitative research was conducted using grounded theory analysis. Data from semi‐structured interviews and a focus group were analysed using QSR N6 software to identify themes concerning the effects patients experienced by adding meditation to their lives. Five major themes emerged from the data: (1) opening to change; (2) self‐control; (3) shared experience; (4) personal growth; (5) spirituality. This information was used to develop specific theory concerning mechanisms whereby MBSR effects change for cancer patients. These understandings may be used to refine and further develop MBSR programmes to better assist patients during cancer diagnosis, treatment and recovery. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mindfulness‐based cancer recovery and supportive‐expressive therapy maintain telomere length relative to controls in distressed breast cancer survivors

“…developed and manualized MBCR 32 specifically to meet the needs of oncology populations, and its efficiency has been validated in previous studies. [33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Facilitators were clinical psychologists and a nurse who were fully trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction and had led groups in previous MBCR trials. Participants attended 8 weekly group sessions of 90 minutes in duration, and a six-hour retreat between weeks 6 and 7.…”

“I Felt Like a New Person.” The Effects of Mindfulness Meditation on Older Adults With Chronic Pain: Qualitative Narrative Analysis of Diary Entries

“…The mean number of participants who handed in a diary every week (one page per week) was 18 (range [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. The first three weeks 26, 22, and 23 participants, respectively, handed in a diary.…”

“…12 It has been found to reduce the intensity of pain, as well as increase mood and function. 1,10 There are few first-person accounts that exist in the literature that describe what an individual experiences while learning mindfulness meditation 13,17,5,8,16 and none focus on an older population of chronic pain patients and how they use it to alleviate pain. Why is this important?…”

How Is Stress Reduced by a Workplace Mindfulness Intervention? A Qualitative Study Conceptualising Experiences of Change

“…Group effects in MBSR-based interventions are expected, and reported, as vicarious learning, normalisation, cohesion, empathy, compassion and reduced professional isolation, and are therapeutic in stress reduction in and of themselves (e.g. Beckman et al 2012;Dobkin 2008;MacKenzie et al 2007). Irving et al's (2014) model of change, based on healthcare practitioners, similarly positioned group experiences as an intervening factor, whereby peer endorsement of the intervention's application to working life improved the intervention's credibility and acceptance.…”

“…to coping with pain or cancer) is likely to shape process and outcomes (e.g. Dobkin 2008;Mackenzie et al 2007;Malpass et al 2012). Only a handful of qualitative studies have explored the experience of mindfulness interventions for non-clinical populations, and these have relied on feedback forms (e.g.…”