The impact of mindfulness therapy and group nursing interventions on the mental health and social functioning of patients after cervical cancer surgery: A study focused on enhancing psychological resilience

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the effects of mindfulness-based therapy and group care intervention on the mental health and social functioning of postoperative cervical cancer patients and to explore the mediating role of psychological resilience in the intervention outcomes. Methods: A prospective randomized controlled design was adopted. A total of 221 postoperative cervical cancer patients were randomly assigned to the mindfulness-based therapy group, the group care intervention group, and the combined intervention group. The intervention lasted for 8 weeks, with a follow-up period of 3 months. Mental health and social functioning were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Social Functioning Scale (SDS), and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Synergistic effects of the combined intervention and the mediating role of psychological resilience were analyzed using multiple linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The combined intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in anxiety, depression, psychological stress, social functioning, and psychological resilience compared to the single-intervention groups. Significant differences were observed between groups both at the end of the intervention and at the conclusion of the follow-up period (P < 0.05). Psychological resilience demonstrated a significant mediating effect in the improvements of anxiety and depression achieved through mindfulness and group care interventions (P < 0.05). Model fit indices indicated good model performance (CFI = 0.910, RMSEA = 0.058). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a notable synergistic effect in the combined intervention group, with R-squared values indicating good model fit. Conclusion: The combined intervention of mindfulness-based therapy and group care significantly improves the mental health and social functioning of postoperative cervical cancer patients. Psychological resilience plays a key mediating role in this process, providing an effective intervention reference for future clinical practice.