Determining the effectiveness of unity-oriented treatment on death anxiety and resiliency in cancer patients

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Student in General Psychology, Department of Psychology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Family Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of unit-oriented therapy on death anxiety and resiliency in leukemia patients. Method: The statistical population of this study included all patients with leukemia referred to Mahyar Charity in 2019 and 2020, from which 34 patients by referring to the Cohen sample volume the formula was selected using the available sampling method and by random assignment and age, sex and treatment history homogenization, they were divided into two experimental groups and one control group. Participants responded to the Back Anxiety Inventory (1988), the Templer Death Anxiety Scale (1970) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (2003) for pretest, posttest, and follow-up. In order to perform the intervention, the participants in the experimental group underwent 8 sessions of unity-oriented treatment. Analysis of variance with repeated measures and SPSS-24 software was used to analyze the data. Results: The data showed a decrease in post-test scores (4.88±0.69) and follow-up (4.70±0.58) of death anxiety compared to pre-test (10.29±1.04) and the increase in post-test scores (16.17±1.28) and follow-up (16.35±1.22) of resilience compared to pre-test (8.88±1.33) and the control group. In the present study, the interaction of the time*group reduced death anxiety (P=0.001) and increased resilience (P=0.001) compared to the control group. Conclusions: Based on the results of the present study, experts are recommended, in order to reduce the complications of leukemia by providing unity-oriented treatment along with medical therapies to increase patients' resilience and reduce their death anxiety.

Keywords


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