Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Hopelessness among Women with Breast Cancer and Gynecological Cancer

Background: This study investigated the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on alleviation of hopelessness symptoms among women with breast and gynecological cancer. The diagnosis of gynecologic cancer not only has evident physical ramifications for the patient, but also produces secondary psychological stressors that negatively impact the patient’s quality of life (QOL). A research study investigating the effects of MBCT interventions may provide a new approach to coping with these problems.Methods: This study employed a pretest-posttest and intervention group-control group design to evaluate the outcome of the intervention among individuals receiving MBCT in the Cancer Research Center of Shohadaye Tajrish Hospital, Iran. A total of 82 patients participated in the study (intervention group = 41 individuals, control group = 41 individuals) and 61 participants completed the study (intervention group = 29 individuals, control group = 32 individuals). In the intervention group, 29 of the 41 enrolled participants completed the MBCT intervention.Results: After adjusting for pretest, MBCT had a significant effect on the dependent variables of hopelessness [F (2,52) = 59.270, P < 0.001; Wilks’s lambda = 0.305; partial eta squared = 0.695)]. There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of hopelessness due to loss of motivation (F = 21.711, df1 = 54, P < 0.001; eta = 0.291). The effect size is 0.291 and it is slightly high. Moreover, there was a significant difference between the groups in terms of hopelessness due to future expectation (F = 87.030, df1 = 54, P < 0.001; eta = 0.622). The effect size is 0.622 and it is higher than the average. The findings indicated that MBCT significantly improved measures of hopelessness.Conclusion: Analysis of covariance showed that MBCT was effective on reduction of hopelessness among patients suffering from breast and gynecological cancers.