A Mindfulness Breast Care App to reduce body image distress and stigma for breast cancer survivors: Development and preliminary quality assessment.
Shuang Zheng, Wenhe Huang, Xueqin Zhang and 6 others
PMID 40529460WHAT IT FOUND
Five Chinese breast cancer survivors rated a mindfulness app 3.96 out of 5 for quality, and five others reported knowledge and emotional support.
The study did not test whether the app reduced distress or stigma.
Key findings
01Ten breast cancer survivors had 12 weeks of app access; five completed the app quality questionnaire and five were interviewed.
02The app's overall mean quality score was 3.96 of 5, with functionality and information quality each 4.10.
03Interviews identified two themes: the app provided knowledge and emotional support, and participants suggested better content categories, recorded sessions, and discussion time.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only ten women were recruited by convenience sampling, so the findings may not represent other breast cancer survivors. Five participants provided the quantitative app ratings and five provided interviews, making each result very small. The study assessed app quality and user experience after 12 weeks, not change in body image distress or stigma. There was no control group or randomised comparison, so effectiveness cannot be inferred. Participants were Chinese women who could read and write Mandarin and had mobile internet access, limiting generalisability.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The authors declare no competing interests. An Internet company performed the technical development and maintenance of the app.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 3.96 out of 5 score as proof that the app reduces body image distress or stigma. The study only rated the app after 12 weeks and interviewed five users; it did not test effectiveness or measure change in distress or stigma.