Efficacy of Group Meaning Centered Hope Therapy of Cancer Patients and Their Families on Patientsa Quality of Life



Farhadi M¹ ; Reisidehkordi N⁵ ; Kalantari M³ ; Zarghamboroujeni A⁴ Show Affiliations
Source: Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research Published:2014

Abstract

Background: Quality of life (QOL) is a multidimensional concept which has nowadays turned to a supportive interventional goal in chronic diseases like cancer. Numerous interventions have been carried out to improve the QOL in patients with cancer, but the effect of indirect interventions on the patientsa QOL has not been investigated yet. This study aimed to compare the effi cacy of group meaning centered hope therapy of cancer patients and their families on the patientsa QOL. Materials and Methods: This is a clinical trial conducted in three groups with a pre-test post-test design in which the effect of independent variable of meaning centered hope therapy on the dependent variable of QOL was investigated. The subjects were selected from the cancer patients who were aware of their diagnosis, were in primary stages of the disease, and had passed one period of chemotherapy. In this study, 42 patients (16 in control group, 14 in patientsa group therapy, and 12 in patientsa familiesa group therapy) were studied, and WHOQOL was adopted to investigate their QOL. Data were analyzed in two forms of descriptive and inferential statistical tests. Results: The results obtained showed that group meaning centered hope therapy of cancer patients and their families had a positive effect on patientsa QOL compared to the control group. The notable fi nding of the present study was that holding group sessions either for the patients or for their families equally improved patientsa QOL. Conclusion: QOL of the cancer patients can be improved by either group meaning centered hope therapy for patients or group meaning centered hope therapy for their families. This fi nding is important for therapists, as when the patients cannot attend group therapy sessions due to complications of chemotherapy, these sessions can be held for their families to improve patientsa QOL. This conclusion is very helpful in nursesa interaction with the patients and their families. © 2014 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.