The Effect of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Therapy on Illness Acceptance and Coping Strategies in Patients with Systematic Lupus Erythematous

Illness acceptance, stress and how to cope with it, are some of the important issues playing a crucial rule in illness prognosis, physical and psychological wellbeing of chronic patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on illness acceptance and coping strategies in systematic lupus erythematous patients. This quasi-experimental study was carried out with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up with a control group. The sample included 16 lupus patients who were referred to the Rheumatology Clinic of Alzahra Hospital in Isfahan. The sample was selected by using the available sampling method. The patients were assigned randomly to two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 8 sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction. The control group did not receive any intervention. Chronic Illness Acceptance Questionnaire and the short form of Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations were used to collect data. After the end of intervention, both groups were tested again by the same instruments and 30 days afterward in a follow-up. The results of Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance showed that the intervention was effective in increasing activity engagement but it did not affect willingness. The intervention was effective in increasing the use of problem-focused coping and decreasing the use of emotional-focused coping. The intervention was also successful in decreasing the use of avoidant coping. Overall, mindfulness-based stress reduction can be a beneficial treatment to increase illness acceptance and enhancing coping strategies in patients with Lupus.