Effect of Online Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Pain Severity and Life Quality in Women Receiving Treatment for Breast Cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Mindfulness-based interventions are considered to be one of the cognitive-behavioral treatments, the inclusion of which in diseases such as breast cancer can probably lead to a reduction in pain intensity and an increase in the quality of life in sufferers. Consequently, this research focuses on evaluating the influence of online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on pain severity and quality of life in women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Materials and Methods: This research is a randomized controlled clinical trial conducted on 54 women diagnosed with breast cancer who visited Seyed Al Shohada Hospital in Isfahan, Iran, in 2023. Participants were selected based on specific inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to either an experimental group (27 participants) or a control group (27 participants) using block randomization. The test group received virtual educational programs in eight sessions of 90 minutes (once a week) in lectures and a question-and-answer manner. The first and last meeting was conducted online on the platform of the Skyroom system and other meetings were conducted offline through the formation of a group on the Eitaa social network in the form of video submission. It is noteworthy that the control group did not receive training. Pain intensity and quality of life were measured in both groups before and after the educational intervention. Data analysis was performed using the SPSS (version 20) software, employing chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and paired t-tests. Data analysis was performed at a significance level of less than 5. Findings: Both groups were comparable in terms of all demographic characteristics. After the intervention, there was a statistically significant decrease in the average pain severity score within the experimental group compared to their baseline measurements and relative to the control group (P<0.001); the effect size for pain intensity was equal to 1.41. Additionally, there was a statistically significant improvement in the quality of life scores for the experimental group post-intervention compared to both their pre-intervention scores and those of the control group (P<0.001); the effect size for the quality of life variable was equal to 1.95. Conclusion: The implementation of online mindfulness-based cognitive therapy significantly reduces pain severity while enhancing the quality of life for women with breast cancer; therefore, it is advisable to incorporate this method alongside other medical treatments through suitable programs. © 2025 Ebrahimi Dinani et al.