Effect of Group Teaching of Emotional Intelligence Components of Salovey and Mayer (1990) Model on Stigma in Cancer Patients

Cancer stigma is an important issue in cancer patients and affects the follow-up, adherence, and acceptance of treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to take action to reduce cancer stigma.

This study aimed to determine the effect of group training of emotional intelligence components of Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) model on stigma in cancer patients.

This clinical trial with a pretest-posttest design was performed on 52 patients with cancer admitted to Omid Oncology Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, during 2018-2019. The participants were selected by the convenience sampling method and randomly allocated to two groups of intervention (n=25) and control (n=27). The intervention group received emotional intelligence group training based on Salovey and Mayer’s (1990) model during 10 sessions. The control group received routine care during the study. The data collection tool was the Cancer Stigma Scale. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software (version 25) using the paired t-test and independent t-test. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered the significant level.

 Based on the results, there was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding the mean total stigma score in the pretest (P=0.46). However, there was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the changes in the mean total stigma score after the intervention (P<0.001).

Emotional intelligence group teaching can be effective in reducing stigma in cancer patients. Therefore, it is suggested to use emotional intelligence teaching to reduce stigma in cancer patients in oncology hospitals.