Effects of a Virtual Reality-Based Meditation Intervention on Anxiety and Depression Among Patients With Acute Leukemia During Induction Chemotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence supports that virtual reality (VR)-based meditation interventions may improve anxiety and depression among patients with cancer. However, empirical studies involving patients with acute leukemia during induction chemotherapy are limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine the effects of VR-based meditation intervention on alleviating anxiety and depression and improving the quality of life among patients with acute leukemia during induction chemotherapy. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial recruited 63 patients newly diagnosed with acute leukemia. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (received VR-based meditation for 20 min daily for 14 days) and a control group. Anxiety, depression, and quality of life were measured using the State Anxiety Inventory, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Leukemia Questionnaire, respectively. All outcomes were measured at baseline and post-intervention. RESULTS: Compared with patients in the control group, those in the intervention group demonstrated a significantly greater reduction in anxiety (P = .04) and improvement in quality of life (P = .04). However, no significant difference was noted in depression levels between groups (P = .09), although a decreasing trend was observed in the intervention group. CONCLUSION: Virtual reality-based meditation intervention effectively alleviated anxiety and improved the quality of life among acute leukemia patients during induction chemotherapy. Future randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods are warranted. IMPLICATION FOR PRACTICE: Virtual reality-based meditation can be applied in clinical practice virtually anytime and anywhere to provide a convenient intervention for anxiety reduction for acute leukemia patients during induction chemotherapy.

Prevalence and factors associated with compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among Chinese oncology healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional survey.

Objective: This cross-sectional study examined the prevalence and factors associated with compassion satisfaction and fatigue among oncology healthcare professionals (doctors and nurses) in mainland China. Methods: A total of 337 subjects were recruited via convenience sampling from the oncology departments of five general hospitals in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. They were invited to complete a survey that included demographic characteristics, the Profession Quality of life Scale, the Brief Cope Questionnaire, and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Results: The findings showed medium levels of compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress among oncology healthcare professionals in China, reaching rates of 78.34%, 63.50% and 75.96%, respectively. Multiple regression analyses suggested that active coping, positive reframing, and strength were the significant factors of compassion satisfaction, explaining 48.6% of the total variance (P â€‹< â€‹0.001). Substance use and self-blame were the significant factors of burnout, explaining 45.1% of the total variance (P â€‹< â€‹0.001). Venting, denial, substance use, self-blame, and strength were the significant factors of secondary traumatic stress, explaining 37.6% of the total variance (P â€‹< â€‹0.001). Conclusions: The high prevalence of compassion fatigue warrants the attention of the hospitals' senior management. The effective coping styles identified may be considered when developing strategies to improve the professional quality of life among oncology healthcare professionals.