Mindfulness and Mental Health of Cancer Caregivers: A Narrative Review

Abstract

The role of cancer caregivers is extremely important, helpful, and demanding in the context of cancer patients, and it often leads to various mental and physical challenges for caregivers, including stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, burden, and a decline in quality of life (QoL). Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have emerged as a promising, simple, and non-pharmacological strategy to address these concerns. This review paper examines how MBIs improve mental health in cancer caregivers, including distress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, burden, quality of life, and sleep quality. A comprehensive literature review was conducted on the present topic using databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science. This review included 35 relevant studies published between 2014 and 2024, comprising randomized controlled trials (RCTs), non-randomized trials, and qualitative research. All of these studies evaluated mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) that have a positive impact on caregivers’ mental health. The findings indicate that interventions like Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) are effective in reducing stress, anxiety, depression, caregiver burden and fatigue, while also improving quality of life, and sleep quality. This review concludes that, mindfulness-based interventions are a beneficial, useful, and simple method that positively impacts caregivers’ mental health.