The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on the Symptoms of Pain Perception in Older Women

Abstract

Objectives One of the most common problems in old age is chronic pain. The present study aims to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in reducing the pain intensity of older women. Methods & Materials This is a randomized controlled clinical trial with a pretest/posttest/one-month follow-up design. The study population consists of all women aged ≥60 in Isfahan, Iran, in 2023. From this population, 30 women were selected using a convenience sampling method and based on the entry criteria. They were randomly assigned into two groups of intervention and control. The research tool was the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The intervention group received the MBCT in eight two-hour sessions, while the control group was put on the waiting list. The data were analyzed by repeated measure analysis of variance in SPSS software, version 25. Results The mean age of women was 64.07±3.37 years in the intervention group and 64.20±3.57 in the control group. The mean total score of pain intensity in the intervention and control groups was 22.67 and 35.13 respectively in the post-test phase and 23.60 and 35.07 in the follow-up phase, respectively. The results showed a significant difference between the mean of the three assessment phases in all subscales and the total score (P<0.01). The results of the Bonferroni test indicated the effectiveness of the intervention in the post-test and follow-up phases for all subscales compared to the control group (P≤0.05). Conclusion The MBCT can reduce the pain intensity of older women.

Keywords

• mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
• pain intensity
• older women