Brief Mindfulness Chatbot Intervention for Cancer Patients

This study tests a new digital tool for hospitalized cancer patients. The tool is a chatbot on LINE, a popular messaging app. The chatbot is called Mindbot. Mindbot leads a 10-minute mindfulness practice each day. The practice uses breathing exercises and virtual reality (VR). Adult cancer patients in the hospital ward can join. Participants are randomly placed into one of two groups. One group uses Mindbot every day during their hospital stay. The other group receives usual hospital care through the hospital's existing health app. Researchers measure mindfulness, stress, and heart rate variability (a measure of body stress) before and after each practice. They also collect saliva samples to check a stress hormone called cortisol. Researchers track fatigue and cancer symptoms too. These measurements happen at three time points: hospital admission, hospital discharge, and the first follow-up clinic visit.

Inclusion Criteria: * Age greater than 18 years * Diagnosed with cancer * Able to use a smartphone and operate LINE (either the participant themselves or their caregiver) * Able to communicate and read in Mandarin Chinese Exclusion Criteria: * Physician-diagnosed severe psychiatric disorder or cognitive impairment that may affect comprehension of study content or ability to complete questionnaires * Currently participating in another psychotherapy or mindfulness training program