The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Group Therapy on Self-Care and Hope

The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based stress reduction group therapy on self-care and hope in patients with type 2 diabetes.

The current research was part of a descriptive experimental research using the pre-test-post-test method with a control group and a follow-up stage; The statistical population of the research included all the people referred to the health centers of Gorgan City in 2023 who were suffering from type 2 diabetes and for whom a medical file was registered; Of these, 36 patients with type 2 diabetes were selected as samples using the available sampling method, and after matching, they were randomly replaced in the experimental and control groups. The experimental group underwent mindfulness training based on Javadi et al. (2019) during 8 two-hour sessions in 8 weeks, but the control group did not receive training. Both groups completed Tobert et al.'s Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure (2000) and Schneider's Adult Hope Scale (1999) before, after, and one month after the training sessions. Finally, the data were analyzed using the multivariate analysis of covariance test (MANCOVA).

Results showed that mindfulness-based stress reduction group therapy can improve self-care (F=318.54, P<0.0001, ƞ2=0.85) and hope (F=177.87, P<0.0001, ƞ2=0.85) in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction group therapy can be used as a complementary and facilitating treatment in the treatment of type 2 diabetic patients and improve self-care and hope in these patients.