Nurse-Facilitated Virtual Reality-Based Mindfulness to Enhance Resilience and Quality of Life in Patients With Breast Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy.

BACKGROUND

Patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy frequently experience psychological distress that can reduce resilience and quality of life (QoL). Virtual reality (VR)-assisted mindfulness delivered through immersive nature-based environments may support coping and emotional well-being in oncology care.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-facilitated nature-based VR mindfulness intervention in improving resilience and QoL among patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental pre-post study was conducted with 80 female patients (40 intervention, 40 control) undergoing the second to sixth chemotherapy cycles. The intervention group received three 15-20-minute nurse-facilitated VR mindfulness sessions using immersive natural environments with guided mindfulness exercises, while the control group received standard care. Resilience and QoL were assessed using validated Indonesian instruments. Within-group changes were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and between-group differences were examined using the Mann-Whitney test and analysis of covariance.

RESULTS

Resilience improved significantly in both groups, with greater improvement in the intervention group (P < .001) than in the control group (P = .012). The intervention group shifted from moderate to high resilience, whereas the control group remained moderate. QoL improved significantly only in the intervention group (P < .001). Between-group analyses confirmed greater improvements in resilience and QoL in the intervention group (all P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Nurse-facilitated nature-based VR mindfulness may enhance resilience and QoL among patients with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Oncology nurses may incorporate nature-based VR mindfulness as an adjunct intervention to support patient coping during chemotherapy.