Sara Sahranavard

By Sara Sahranavard, Aliakbar Esmaeili, Reza Dastjerdi, et al., Published on

Background: Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment can negatively impact the quality of life and lead to symptoms such as insomnia, depression, and anxiety. Internet-delivered interventions may reduce these symptoms in patients with limited access to face-to-face psychological treatments. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effect of online mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention on the sleep quality of women with breast cancer in Birjand City. Methods: In this randomized controlled clinical trial, 62 eligible women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy in Birjand were selected using convenience sampling. They were assigned to two groups, intervention, and control, each consisting of 31 individuals, using random allocation. In addition to standard treatments, the intervention group received online MBSR training consisting of four two-hour sessions over four consecutive weeks. The control group only received standard cancer treatments. The data collection tool included a demographic form and a standard Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Questionnaire completed by individuals before, immediately, and 2 months after the intervention. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16 statistical software. The following tests were conducted at a significance level of P < 0.05: Chi-square, Fisher's exact, Independent t, repeated-measures ANOVA, Bonferroni, Mann-Whitney U, and Friedman. Results: The mean sleep quality scores decreased immediately and 2 months after the intervention compared to before in the intervention group, while it increased in the control group (P < 0.001). Also, the independent t-test showed that the mean sleep quality scores decreased in the intervention group from before to immediately after the intervention, as well as from before to 2 months later (P > 0.001). In contrast, the control group patients experienced increased sleep quality scores (P > 0.001). Conclusions: Mindfulness-based stress reduction significantly improved sleep quality in the intervention group, as demonstrated by decreased scores immediately and 2 months after the intervention. On the other hand, the control group experienced an increase in sleep quality scores. These findings highlight the effectiveness of MBSR in enhancing sleep outcomes.

Background: Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental state of the faculty members of medical universities responsible for educating students in various fields of medicine needs to gain attention. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the psychological state of the Birjand University of Medical Sciences faculty members following the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: In this study, 122 faculty members of Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Iran, completed an online questionnaire containing demographic information along with two standard scales of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress-21 (DASS-21) and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale-25 (CDRISC-25). The data were analyzed using an independent t-test and ANOVA. Results: The prevalence of moderate to very severe depression, anxiety, and stress in the target group was 32%, 50%, and 41.8%, respectively. The lecturer rank members showed significantly lower resilience (P = 0.03). However, individuals with administrative positions had substantially higher resilience and lower depression and stress levels (P < 0.001). The resilience level was significantly higher in the participants with 10 - 20 years of work (P = 0.02). Master graduate members showed more depression and anxiety (P < 0.001). There was a significant negative relationship between resilience and stress, depression, and anxiety (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress in the target group was considerable. Strengthening resilience according to its protective role could be an effective solution.

INTRODUCTION: The present study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBTs) for anxiety, hardiness, and self-efficacy in female students of Birjand University of Medical Sciences. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was an interventional study. A sample of 30 participants were selected through the available sampling method and randomly assigned into experimental (CBT) and control groups (each group, 15 female student). The data collection instrument was the Beck Depression Inventory questionnaire. The questionnaires of Beck Anxiety Inventory, Ahvaz Hardiness Inventory, and Schwartz's General Self-Efficacy Scale were completed by all participants in two stages (pretest and posttest). A 6-session protocol of cognitive behavioral group therapy was performed only on the experimental group. The data were analyzed using Kolmogorov–Smirnov, Levene's F, Mbox, analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of variance tests. RESULTS: The intervention group showed that the mean of anxiety decreased, whereas (P < 0.001) the means of hardiness and self-efficacy increased in the posttest for the experimental group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that CBT is an effective treatment for anxiety, hardiness, and self-efficacy. Therefore, through managing anxiety, the levels of hardiness and self-efficacy can be increased in students of university to be able to cope with the different challenges in their life.

Background and objective: Anxiety sensitivity, positive and negative affection and hope are the important factors in promoting mental health of students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral treatments on anxiety sensitivity, hope, positive and negative affect in female students of Medical Sciences.Materials and methods: This research was a trail study with pre-test, post-test and control group. A sample of 30 subjects, were selected by available sampling and were randomly assigned using Block Randomization Method of two groups (experimental and control groups). Schneider’s hope questionnaire, Watson’s positive and negative affect questionnaire, Clarke and Tolgman’s questionnaire, Reiss et al.’s anxiety sensitivity of the revised index questionnaire, were completed in two stages (pre-test and post-test) by all subjects. A 6-session protocol of cognitive-behavioral group treatment was performed only on the experimental group. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and MANOVA analysis of variance.Results: Two experimental and control groups with the mean 22, standard deviationl. 13, average age is 22 years. Stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral treatments were effective on the level of anxiety sensitivity and hope (p <0.016), however, it had no significant positive effect on the amount of positive and negative affect (p <0.016).Conclusion: According to the results, it can be concluded that cognitive-behavioral treatments are effective on anxiety sensitivity and hope. Therefore, stress-management-based cognitive-behavioral training can reduce students’ anxiety sensitivity and increase their hopes for coping with challenges.

Various therapeutic approaches have been used to improve depressive symptoms in substance abusers. In a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design and experimental and control groups, we examined and compared the effectiveness of two group-based treatment strategies—cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT)—in reducing depressive symptoms among Iranian women substance abusers. The statistical population included all female addict patients who referred to addiction treatment centers of Birjand city in 2015. A sample of 30 subjects were selected through the available sampling method and randomly assigned into experimental (CBT and DBT) and control groups (each group, 10 patients). The data collection instrument was the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) questionnaire. The patients in the experimental groups were given skills in eight sessions of 90 min. The data were analyzed by the SPSS-19 software by using mean, standard deviation, and percentages at the descriptive level and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) test at the inferential level. The comparison of the mean depression score before intervention in all the groups showed no significant difference. However, after intervention, the findings showed that both CBT and DBT interventions could reduce the mean scores of depression in women substance abusers, 17.5 ± 3.0 vs 29.3 ± 4.1 (F[1,17] = 51.91, p value < 0.01) and 14.7 ± 1.8 vs 29.3 ± 4.1 (F[1,17] = 106.62, p value < 0.01), respectively, for CBT and DBT. Post-treatment effect sizes were large and did not differ statistically for CBT (ηp2, 0.75) and DBT (ηp2, 0.86). Therefore, this study highlights the importance of CBT and DBT skills training to substance abusers and provides initial evidence of their effectiveness.

Iran (public and Payame Noor) in 2017. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research is a correlational cross-sectional study. In total, 200 female students were selected using random sampling method. The Ryan and Connell's Self-Regulation Questionnaire and Durtaj's educational performance scale were used to collect data. The data were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The results showed that there is a significant correlation between self-regulation and educational performance among students of Payame Noor University, whereas it is not significant for public university students. CONCLUSION: We can provide students with effective and useful tips to improve their academic achievement and performance by teaching them self-regulation skills. Therefore, the cornerstone of educational achievement in students should be in that way to achieve the desired educational performance and also increase their self-regulation....