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

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • 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 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

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
Intervention / Treatment
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

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

Agri Ibrahim Cecen University

Investigators

  • 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)

July 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 8, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

June 11, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

June 11, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 8, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID 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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