Background and aim: During the COVID-19 pandemic, an Internet-Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (iMBSR) program was delivered and may be better than an in-person approach. Our study evaluated the effects of iMBSR intervention on mental health, self-efficacy, and body image in women with breast cancer in Taiwan.Materials and methods: Sixty-seven women with breast cancer were allocated to a 6-week iMBSR (n = 41) program or a waitlist control group (n = 26), without heterogeneity between group characteristics. Patients from both groups were measured at baseline and postintervention using three scales: Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), General self-efficacy scale, and Body Image Scale. Descriptive dataset analysis, paired t-test, and Student’s t-test were used to evaluate the data.Results: Although iMBSR did not significantly improve depression and stress between groups, iMBSR could improve anxiety (Δmean: −2.0 vs. −0.4, p = 0.041) with medium effect sizes. Significant benefits were found for body image (Δmean: −3.6 vs. 0.9, p = 0.003) and self-efficacy (Δmean: 4.2 vs. 1.5, p = 0.004), with large effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 0.73).Conclusion: Our preliminary study supports iMBSR as a program that can improve mental health, body image, and self-efficacy in women with breast cancer. During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical professionals can use Internet-based clinical health education.

Background: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) may have positive physiological and psychological benefits for breast cancer survivors. However, few studies involved a combination of the relevant literatures to confirm the effects. Methods: Our study included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs comparing interventions of MBCT and control protocols for alleviation of symptoms among breast cancer survivors. We calculated pooled mean differences (MDs), standardized mean differences (SMDs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by using random effects models to estimate summary effect sizes. Results: Thirteen trials with 20–245 participants were considered in our studies; for the meta-analysis, 11 of these studies were eligible for assessment. The pooled meta-analysis results revealed that at the end of the MBCT intervention, participants’ anxiety (SMD, − 0.70; 95% CI, − 1.26 to − 0.13; I² = 69%), pain (SMD, − 0.64; 95% CI, − 0.92 to − 0.37; I² = 0%), and depression (SMD, − 0.65; 95% CI, − 1.14 to − 0.17; I² = 75%) levels significantly decreased, and their mindfulness (MD, 8.83; 95% CI, 3.88 to 13.78; I² = 68%) levels significantly increased. Conclusion: The MBCT may be associated with improved pain, anxiety, depression, and mindfulness. However, the quantitative analysis pointed to an inconclusive result due to moderate to high levels of heterogeneity among indicator of anxiety, depression, and mindfulness. Future work requires more studies to better elucidate the clinical significance of this possible association. The results suggest that MBCT is highly beneficial as an intervention for patients who have received treatment for breast cancer.

(1) Background: Evidence suggested inconsistent results in anxiety and depression scores among female and male cancer patients. The present systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess how anxiety and depression conditions among cancer patients vary according to sex. (2) Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA). The protocol was registered in PROSPERO with id no. CRD42024512553. The search strategy involved combining keywords using Boolean operators, including “Anxiety”, “Cancer”, and “Depression”, across several databases: Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The outcomes were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). (3) Results: Data were collected from five studies, enrolling a total of 6317 cancer patients, of whom 2961 were females and 3356 males. For each study, HADS-A and HADS-D scores were considered, also differentiating HADS scores according to cancer typology, and then three different meta-analyses were performed. Generally, females reported significantly higher levels of depression scores than males and, conversely, males reported significantly greater levels of anxiety than females. (4) Conclusions: Previous studies suggested higher rates of depression and anxiety conditions in females than in males, but the present data highlighted controversial findings, since males reported significantly higher levels of anxiety than females. In this scenario, the theoretical approach justified females being more open than males to expressing anxiety or depression conditions. It would be necessary for healthcare professionals to improve effective measures purposed at assessing and mitigating depressive symptoms in cases of advanced cancer, thereby improving their mental health, given the high rates of depression in advanced cancer patients, due to the difficulty level of performing their daily living activities, which deteriorate further over time.

Background and Aim: The objective was to decrease patient menopausal symptoms, sleep disturbance, and body image using a nonpharmacological therapy for cultivating key healthy lifestyle habits in patients with breast cancer. Materials and Methods: The participants were 26 women with breast cancer who had recently received structured mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) training in a clinical trial. Focus groups and interviews were conducted, during which the participants were asked semistructured, open-ended questions regarding the experiences of MBSR. Results: The participants indicated that MBSR helped them to alleviate hot flashes and night sweats, and improve sleep quality and be more at ease with the external aspect of their body. On the other hand, during MBSR intervention in a group manner, the participants felt more psychological support and an outlet for sharing negative emotional experiences. Conclusion: This study identified the short-term benefits associated with group-based MBSR for women with breast cancer. In addition, our research identified the difficulties of intervention measures and coping methods. The study described the benefits of MBSR for patients with breast cancer. The findings of this study will help nursing staff identify the main coping menopausal symptoms and control negative mental health.

The increasing elderly population is driving higher utilization rates of long-term care facilities, where residents often have multiple chronic diseases, making them potential candidates for palliative care. Timely palliative care interventions can improve their quality of life and medical autonomy. This study systematically reviews the effectiveness of palliative care programs in long-term care facilities. Databases such as PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Airiti Library were searched up to 31 December 2023, using PICO criteria and the following keywords: ‘care home’, ‘nursing home’, ‘residential aged care facility’, and ‘long-term care facility’ for patients; and ‘Gold Standard Framework in Care Homes’, ‘integrated care pathway’, ‘care home project’, and ‘palliative care program’ for interventions. Seven articles were included. The results indicate that the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) intervention did not significantly influence overall quality of life but did improve the quality of death. There were no statistical differences in comfort or quality of death between the dementia and non-dementia groups. However, PACE significantly reduced healthcare costs. The implementation of the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) notably enhanced the control of terminal symptoms, while the Gold Standard Framework in Care Homes (GSFCH) effectively improved end-of-life care rates, do-not-resuscitate (DNR) signing rates, advance care planning (ACP) completion rates, and reduced inappropriate readmission rates. While palliative care interventions are shown to improve the quality of end-of-life care, their practical application should be adapted to fit the implementation conditions and capabilities of domestic long-term care facilities.

Background and Aim: Patient safety culture attitude is strongly linked to patient safety outcomes. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, pandemic prevention has become the priority of hospital staff. However, few studies have explored the changes in patient safety culture among hospital staff that have occurred during the pandemic. The present study compared the safety attitudes, emotional exhaustion (EE), and work–life balance (WLB) of hospital staff in the early (2020) and late (2021) stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and explored the effects of EE and WLB on patient safety attitudes in Taiwan.Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the Joint Commission of Taiwan Patient Safety Culture Survey, including the six-dimension Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) and EE and WLB scales, were used for data collection.Results: This study included a total of 706 hospital employees from a district hospital in Taipei City. The respondents' scores in each SAQ sub-dimension (except for stress recognition) increased non-significantly from 2020 to 2021, whereas their EE and WLB scores improved significantly (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that although a respondent's WLB score could predict their scores in each SAQ sub-dimension (except for stress recognition), EE was the most important factor affecting the respondents' attitudes toward patient safety culture during the later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion: In the post-pandemic, employees' attitudes toward safety climate, job satisfaction, and perception of Management changed from negative to positive. Additionally, both EE and WLB are key factors influencing patient safety culture. The present study can be used as a reference for hospital managers to formulate crisis response strategies.