Stress‐reducing effects of a brief mindfulness intervention in palliative care: Results from a randomised, crossover study.

Objective: Mindfulness‐based interventions are a widely used and highly accepted adjunct treatment in oncology. Due to a paucity of research in advanced cancer and other terminal illnesses, we aimed to evaluate the stress‐reducing effects of a brief, standardised mindfulness intervention for use in palliative care. Methods: This study was a randomised, crossover trial where patients participated in both a single mindfulness intervention and a resting state control condition. The order of the conditions was randomised. Study outcomes encompassed self‐report data on stress and well‐being and measures of heart rate variability. All outcome data were measured at four times per day. Results: Forty‐two patients participated in this study. We found significantly stronger reductions in self‐rated stress and mean heart rate as well as an increase in heart rate variability after the mindfulness intervention. Psychophysiological effects were strongest in the immediate pre‐ to post‐intervention comparison, while the effect on subjective stress persisted after 20 to 40 min. No significant differences were found for self‐rated well‐being. Conclusions: Despite the rather small magnitude of effects, the brief mindfulness intervention showed to be effective and accepted by patients in very advanced stages of a disease and could be offered by trained healthcare professionals in palliative care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]