Mindfulness-based and educational interventions for family caregivers of patients with cancer: a pilot study on self-compassion and quality of sleep

Background: Family caregivers of patients with cancer often experience physical, emotional and mental challenges. However, there is limited research on the impact of caregiving on family caregiver's sleep. This study evaluated the effectiveness of brief mindfulness-based interventions and educational interventions in improving mindfulness, self-compassion and sleep quality in family caregivers in Jordan. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted with 48 family caregivers assigned to either the mindfulness-based interventions (25) or the educational intervention (23) group. Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Self-Compassion Scale-Short Form and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index were used post-interventions to assess outcomes. Results: The mindfulness group demonstrated significant improvements in mindfulness, self-compassion and sleep quality, with medium to large effect sizes (Cohen's d=0.36?2.01, P<.001). The educational group showed significantly smaller improvement than those in the mindfulness group, with no significant improvement in quality of sleep. Conclusions: Brief mindfulness-based interventions are effective in enhancing mindfulness, self-compassion and sleep quality among family caregivers, surpassing the benefits of educational interventions. These findings suggest that mindfulness-based interventions should be incorporated into caregiving support programmes to improve the wellbeing and outcomes of family caregivers.