Leveraging iPads to introduce meditation and reduce distress among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a promising approach.

PURPOSE: Distress is common among cancer patients. Regular meditation practice has the potential to mitigate this distress and improve quality of life for this population. Introducing meditation to cancer patients can be particularly challenging given the demands on patients' time from treatment and normal life events. This internal process improvement study examined the potential benefit of utilizing iPads during chemotherapy sessions to introduce meditation and reduce distress.

METHODS

Patients undergoing chemotherapy infusion were offered iPads with various meditation videos and audio files during the session. Levels of distress were measured using the distress thermometer at the beginning of chemotherapy and at the conclusion of chemotherapy.

RESULTS

Seventy-three patients accepted the meditation iPads during the chemotherapy session. Among those who accepted the iPads, average distress dropped 46% by the end of the session (p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of iPads during chemotherapy is a potentially effective way to introduce meditation as a stress management tool for people with cancer.