Objective: 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.
Methods: 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).
Results: 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.
Conclusion: 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.
Keywords: mindfulness; mindfulness of love; palliative care; spiritual quality of life; suffering.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.