Palliative care providers' experiences of mindfulness and resilience: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Although mindfulness is widely acknowledged to foster resilience, limited research has examined how palliative care providers sustain this practice and how it shapes their resilience. This study explores how providers with sustained mindfulness practice, understand, and embody the cultivation of resilience across personal and professional domains.

Fifteen palliative care providers (three physicians, eight nurses, three psychologists, and a spiritual care provider) who providing end-of-life care in hospitals across Taiwan were recruited. All practiced mindfulness regularly after completing a mindfulness-based stress reduction program, integrating techniques such as breath awareness, body scan meditation, or mindful walking into their daily and professional lives. Data from individual semi-structured interviews were analyzed using Smith and Nizza's interpretative phenomenological approach.

Three group experiential themes were derived: discovering inner resilience through mindfulness, living mindfully as a way of life, and staying resilient in challenging environments. They illustrate how mindfulness fosters resilience by integrating emotional, mental, and existential dimensions. Mindfulness served as both an internal regulatory mechanism and a stabilizing force against external uncertainties, thereby fostering adaptability in challenging environments. These findings deepen our understanding of mindfulness as long-term resilience-building practice in palliative care.

This study addresses the psychological challenges of palliative care providers in high-stress settings. The findings highlight how mindfulness fosters resilience by integrating self-awareness, emotional stability, and a reflective perspective into professional experiences. These insights extend beyond short-term stress relief, informing research and policies on healthcare provider well-being and sustaining palliative care practice.