Effect of Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program on Self-Compassion, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Professional Quality of Life in Midwives and Nurses Working in Obstetrics: A Randomized Controlled Trial (MBSC-RCT)

June 8, 2026 updated by: Ebru SOLMAZ, Agri Ibrahim Cecen University

The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program on Self-Compassion, Secondary Traumatic Stress, and Professional Quality of Life in Midwives and Nurses Working in Obstetrics: A Randomized Controlled Trial

This study aims to examine the effect of a Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program on self-compassion levels, secondary traumatic stress, and professional quality of life in midwives and nurses working in obstetrics. Healthcare professionals in this field are frequently exposed to traumatic experiences such as complicated deliveries, perinatal loss, and obstetric emergencies, which may lead to secondary traumatic stress and reduced professional quality of life over time. This study is designed as a pre-test/post-test randomized controlled trial. A total of 80 participants (40 intervention, 40 control) will be recruited from Gaziantep Cengiz Gökçek Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital. The intervention group will receive an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program (one session per week, 60-90 minutes each). The control group will receive no intervention. Outcomes will be measured before and after the program using validated scales for self-compassion, secondary traumatic stress, and professional quality of life.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Working as a midwife or nurse in obstetrics
  • Actively employed in the relevant unit of the study institution
  • 18 years of age or older
  • Able to read and understand Turkish
  • Willing to participate voluntarily in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Incomplete or incorrect completion of data collection forms
  • Leaving the institution or withdrawing from the study during the research process
  • Failure to complete post-test measurements
  • Having participated in a self-compassion, mindfulness, or similar psychoeducation program within the last six months
  • Intervention group participants are expected to attend at least 80% of program sessions. Participants attending fewer than seven out of eight sessions will be excluded from the analysis.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention Group
Participants receive an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program (one session per week, 60-90 minutes each).
Behavioral: Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Program
An 8-week mindfulness-based self-compassion program consisting of one session per week (60-90 minutes each). Sessions include mindfulness exercises, self-compassion practices, emotional awareness activities, and experiential exercises. The program is conducted by the principal investigator.
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants receive no intervention during the study period. Only pre-test and post-test measurements are applied.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-Compassion Level
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Measured by the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF). Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-compassion.
Baseline and 8 weeks
Self-Compassion Level
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Measured by the Self-Compassion Scale Short Form (SCS-SF). Scores range from 11 to 55. Higher scores indicate higher levels of self-compassion.
Baseline and 8 weeks
Professional Quality of Life
Time Frame: Baseline and 8 weeks
Measured by the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL). Includes three subscales: compassion satisfaction, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress.
Baseline and 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Agri Ibrahim Cecen University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Ebru Solmaz, PhD, Agri Ibrahim Ceçen University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Midwifery

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Bride, B. E., Radey, M., & Figley, C. R. (2004). Development and validation of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 14(1), 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731503254106 Delaney, M. C. (2018). Caring for the caregivers: Evaluation of the effect of an eight-week pilot mindful self-compassion (MSC) training program on nurses' compassion fatigue and resilience. PLoS ONE, 13(11), Makale e0207261. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0207261 Franco, P. L., Knox, M. C., Gulbas, L. E., & Gregory, K. (2024). Learning self-compassion through social connection at work: The experiences of healthcare professionals in a 6-week intervention. Qualitative Social Work, 23(2), 364-381. https://doi.org/10.1177/14733250221145941 Gilbert-Ouimet, M., Zahiriharsini, A., Lam, L., & Truchon, M. (2024). Associations between self-compassion and moral injury among healthcare workers: A cross-sectional study. Nursing Ethics, 32, 1510 - 1527. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330241299536. Jung, E., & Jung, Y.-E. (2025). The impact of self-compassion on enhancing the professional quality of life for healthcare workers. Journal of Korean Medical Science, 40(14), Makale e141. https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2025.40.e141 Mangoulia, P., Tsokas, N., Koukia, E., Malli, F., Missouridou, E., Dafogianni, C., Kyranou, M., & Fradelos, E. C. (2025). Cultivating self-compassion to improve social workers' professional quality of life in primary healthcare. Healthcare, 13(11), Makale 1313. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13111313 Nadarajan, S., Chui, P., Lee, W., & Zaini, N. (2025). Factors influencing compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among nurses: a study in a tertiary hospital. BMC Nursing, 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-02736-3. Neff, K. D., Knox, M. C., Long, P., & Gregory, K. (2020). Caring for others without losing yourself: An adaptation of the Mindful Self-Compassion Program for Healthcare Communities. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 76(9), 1543-1562.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
June 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
June 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • E-95531838-050.99-171586

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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