Mindfulness interventions in post-cervical cancer: Sexual, psychological, and quality of life impact

Background: The incidence of cervical cancer has been steadily increasing in recent years. Surgical resection is an effective treatment option, but there remains a risk of recurrence and numerous complications. In the wake of surgery, patients often experience vaginal elasticity loss, narrowing, and lowered estrogen levels, which leads to dyspareunia. The loss of physiological functions in females is also followed by uncomfortable emotions such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and panic, which not only affect treatment outcomes but also disrupt patients' daily lives. This experiment intends to observe the effects of a comprehensive mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral intervention approach on patients' sexual function, psychological state, and quality of life following surgery, hoping to provide more feasible care options for such patients. Objective: This research aims to investigate the impact of comprehensive mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral interventions on patients' sexual function, psychological state, and quality of life after early cervical cancer resection surgery. Methods: This study included 206 patients who underwent cervical cancer resection at Capital Medical University electric power teaching Hospital (State Grid Corporation of China Beijing electric power hospital) between June 2022 and December 2023. The 96 patients who had surgery between June 2022 and February 2023 were assigned to the control group, while the 110 patients who underwent surgery between March 2023 and December 2023 were allocated to the intervention group. The control group was subjected to standard nursing care, whereas the intervention group received mindfulness-based cognitive behavioral interventions. Care was given to both groups for 8 weeks. Comparisons were made for the sexual function levels of both groups one-year post-surgery. Health knowledge and nursing satisfaction were also compared, and psychological states [via the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS)], mindfulness cognition levels [using the mindful attention awareness scale (MAAS)], and quality of life were evaluated before and after the 8-week intervention. Results: Following the implementation of different nursing interventions, the intervention group exhibited remarkably heightened levels of health knowledge acquisition and nursing satisfaction compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Prior to the intervention, there were no statistically significant variances between the two cohorts in terms of sexual desire, sexual arousal, orgasm, vaginal lubrication, dyspareunia and sexual intercourse satisfaction, SAS scores, SDS scores, MAAS scores, physiological status scores, social/family status scores, emotional well-being scores, and functional status scores (P > 0.05). Post-intervention, the intervention group scored higher in terms of sexual function, had lower SAS and SDS scores, and displayed higher MAAS scores compared with the control group. Moreover, the intervention group demonstrated significantly better scores in physiological status, emotional well-being, and functional status compared to the control group (P < 0.05), with these differences being statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Implementing mindfulness- based cognitive behavioral interventions in patients undergoing cervical cancer resection can enhance their health knowledge and nursing satisfaction, maintain sexual function, improve postoperative psychological state, and elevate quality of life. This approach holds remarkable clinical value.