The effect of 5‐min mindfulness of love on suffering and spiritual quality of life of palliative care patients: A randomized controlled study

Abstract

Suffering is a common experience in palliative care. In our study, we aimed to determine the effect of 5-min mindfulness of love on suffering and the spiritual quality of life of palliative care patients. We conducted a parallel-group, blinded, randomized controlled study at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Malaysia from February 2019 to April 2019. Sixty adult palliative care patients with an overall suffering score of 4/10 or above based on the Suffering Pictogram were recruited and randomly assigned to either the 5-min mindfulness of love group (N=30) or the 5-min supportive listening group (N=30). There were statistically significant improvements in the overall suffering score (mean difference=-2.9, CI=-3.7 to -2.1, t=-7.268, p=0.000) and the total FACIT-Sp-12 score (mean difference=2.9, CI=1.5 to 4.3, t=4.124, p=0.000) in the intervention group compared to the control group. The results provided evidence that 5-min mindfulness of love could affect the actual state of suffering and the spiritual quality of life of palliative care patients.