Effectiveness of Palliative Care on Death Anxiety, Self-Compassion, and Perceived Stress in Patients with Leukemia

Objective: The current investigation examined the efficacy of palliative care in alleviating death anxiety, enhancing self-compassion, and mitigating perceived stress among patients diagnosed with leukemia. Methods: This study was executed following an experimental design that included both a control group and an experimental group across pre-test and post-test, involving 30 leukemia patients who sought treatment at Firoozgar Hospital in Tehran in 2024. Participants were chosen through a process of simple random sampling from individuals who fulfilled the established entry criteria for the study. Data pertinent to the research were amassed during two intervals: at the commencement of the study and upon conclusion of the intervention (specifically, at the end of the fourth week). The instruments utilized for the research comprised a death anxiety questionnaire, a self-compassion questionnaire, and a perceived stress questionnaire. The training protocol implemented in the study consisted of a comprehensive four-week program, delivered in the format of one-hour sessions occurring twice weekly. Results: The findings of the study indicated a statistically significant difference between the groups regarding the dependent variables, with 52.1% of the variance attributable to the changes in these variables resulting from the applied intervention. Conclusions: Consequently, it can be concluded that palliative care is effective in ameliorating death anxiety, fostering self-compassion, and alleviating perceived stress in patients with leukemia, thereby warranting its recommendation as a targeted intervention.