Document Type : Research Article
Authors
1 Ph.D. Student, Department of Psychology, UAE Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
2 Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Kharazmi, Tehran, Iran
3 3- Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Kharazmi, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
According to the World Health Organization (2023), approximately 95% of all adults with diabetes have type 2 diabetes. The quality of life of these patients is low. Considering that the psychological complications of type 2 diabetes are very costly, it is very important to pay attention to psychological therapies for its consequences, including the quality of life; The main question of the current research is “what extent is the effect of ACT and EFT on the quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes”. This research was a quasi-experimental method with a pre-test, post-test, and follow-up design. The statistical population of the current study was all patients with type 2 diabetes living in Tehran who had visited the endocrinology clinics of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Using the available sampling method, 45 patients with type 2 diabetes were replaced in three groups according to the entry and exit criteria. Quality of life (SF-36) was used to collect data. For the first experimental group, ACT was performed in 12 one-hour sessions, and for the second experimental group, EFT was performed based in 8 one-hour sessions. Finally, the data were analyzed using the paired sample t-test and repeated measure test. In addition, SPSS-26 software was used for the analysis.
The results of the one-sample t-test showed that in the ACT group, the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the quality of life and its dimensions (emotional health, mental health, lack of physical pain, general health) was significant; This means that these scores have increased in the post-test compared to the pre-test. In the EFT group, the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the quality of life and its dimensions (emotional health, lack of fatigue, social functioning, lack of physical pain) was significant; In other words, EFT had an effect on increasing scores in the post-test. But in the control group, no significant difference was observed between the pre-test and post-test scores. The results of the mixed variance analysis test showed that the effect of time and group on the quality of life of patients was significant; However, the group × time effect on the patients' quality of life was not significant; In other words, there is a difference between the levels of time (pre-test, post-test, and follow-up) in all study groups. Also, the results showed that ACT and EFT have almost the same effect on patients' quality of life. The results of the interaction effect of therapies and mechanism variables showed that ACT with the help of psychological flexibility and EFT with the help of emotional efficiency were effective in improving the quality of life of type 2 diabetes patients.
The results showed that ACT and EFT were effective on the quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes and no significant difference was observed between the effectiveness of these two therapies on the quality of life. This result is consistent with previous findings. ACT seeks to increase psychological flexibility, which includes awareness and acceptance of one's thoughts and feelings while taking actions that are aligned with personal values; Therefore, increasing psychological flexibility, which has been confirmed to be related to quality of life, can help people with type 2 diabetes to deal with emotional challenges caused by this disease, such as hopelessness, anxiety, or depression, which can improve their quality of life. Regarding the effectiveness of EFT on the quality of life of patients with type 2 diabetes in the present study, it can be said that this finding is consistent with previous findings. In explaining this finding, it can be argued that living with type 2 diabetes often involves managing stress related to the disease itself and its treatment, and EFT can provide people with strategies to deal with stress more effectively, such as identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts and developing healthy coping mechanisms; Therefore, it can have a positive effect on the quality of life of people with diabetes. Based on the findings, it is suggested that ACT and EFT use to improve the quality of life of type 2 diabetes patients.
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