The effect of an in-person mindfulness program on compassion in nursing care among undergraduate nursing students

Abstract Background and Objective: Compassion is a central value in nursing, involving humanity, empathy, love, and wisdom. As nursing is closely tied to care, students’ clinical experiences shape their compassionate skills. Mindfulness improves self-awareness and may foster compassion. This study aimed to examine the effect of an in-person mindfulness program on compassion among undergraduate nursing students. Method: This quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test study was conducted with 87 nursing students at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Participants were selected through convenience sampling and randomly divided into intervention and control groups. Both groups first completed a demographic form and the Compassionate Care Scale. The intervention group then received an eight-session mindfulness program over four weeks, while the control group received no training. Afterward, both groups again completed the scale, and results were analyzed. Results: After the intervention, compassion scores increased more in the intervention group than in the control group, though overall differences were not statistically significant. Within the intervention group, however, compassion scores improved significantly (P < 0.001), including all subscales of communication, sensitivity, and insight. No significant changes were seen in the control group. Conclusion: Mindfulness can enhance compassion in nursing students, particularly in its subscales, even if overall changes are gradual. Integrating tailored mindfulness programs into education may strengthen compassionate nursing care. Trial registration . The current study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Midwifery of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences on 2024/03/11 with the registration code IR.SBMU.PHARMACY.REC.1402.316. In addition, the study protocol was registered with the Iranian Clinical Trial Registration Center on 2024/12/09 under the code IRCT20241017063399N1.