Title: The effect of psycho-educational intervention on depression of diabetes patients

Biography:

Sara Masoumi is 33 years old and has completed the MA degree in educational psychology in 2017 and she is currently studying PhD in Educational Psychology at the Shiraz University. She is the internal manager of the Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences. She has published more than 10 articles in reputed journals. Farkhondeh Sharif completed the degree of PhD from Sydney University. She is Editor- in-Chief of the International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. She has published more than 100 papers in reputed Journals.

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder. The diabetic patients are likely to be affected by mental distress, especially depression. Psychologist should pay attention to the psychological needs of depressive patients by participating in an application of non-pharmacological treatment such as psycho-educational intervention. We aimed to assess the effect of Psycho-educational intervention on depression in patients with diabetes. This randomized controlled trial was performed in the diabetes clinics affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. Sixty eligible patients suffering from depression were randomly divided into two groups by convenience sampling method, using random block allocation. The experimental group was randomly subdivided into three groups of 10 each and received eight sessions of psycho-education. The level of depression was checked before as well as 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 2 months after the intervention in both groups. Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level was also checked before and 2 months after the intervention.  Both groups were demographically homogeneous with no statistically significant difference. The trend in depression scores before as well as 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 2 months after the intervention was statistically significant in the experimental group (P ≤ 0.001), but not in the control group (P = 0.087). The results showed that HbA1c variation was statistically significant before and after the intervention in both groups (P ≤ 0.001). However, the mean variation of HbA1c was not statistically significant between the groups (P = 0.473). Psycho-educational intervention was feasible and produces positive mental health in patients with diabetes.