Abstract:
Breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy are at risk for depression. If these patients with depression receive the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program, they will be aware of their thoughts and emotions, and be present, which can reduce their depression. This quasi-experimental research aimed to test the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program on depression among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Twenty-two participants who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 11) and the control group (n = 11). The research instruments include the personal data form, the Beck Depression Scale, and the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program. The program was divided into 4 sessions, one session per week for 4 weeks. The control group received regular nursing care. The data collection was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023. Descriptive statistics, independent t-test, two-way repeated measures ANOVA and pairwise comparison using the Bonferroni method were employed to analyze the data.
The results showed that the experimental group had the mean scores of depression at posttest and 1-month follow-up significantly different from the control group with p < .001 (F1,28= 16.30, p < .01). In the experimental group, the mean scores of depression at post-test (x̄= 6.73, SD.= 1.79) and 1-month follow-up (x̄= 5.36, SD.= 1.69) were significantly lower than those at pre-test (x̄= 12.73, SD.= 2.53) with p < .01.
The result revealed that the mindfulness-based cognitive therapy program could be applied to decrease depression among breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Therefore, nurses and related healthcare providers could apply this program to prevent and reduce depression among this group.