Effect of Metacognitive Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on Body Image Concerns of Female Hemodialysis Patients

Concern about body image is one of the important psycho-social issues of hemodialysis women patients, which reduces their quality of life. Identifying the most appropriate treatment is important in providing patients services.

The present study was conducted on the effect of metacognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy on the body image concerns of hemodialysis women patients.

This study was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design and a control group. The population consisted of all hemodialysis patients referred to the hemodialysis department of two hospitals affiliated with the Alborz University of Medical Science. The sample size was 54 people. Non-random sampling was done until the sample size was complete. Then, by simple random sampling, people were divided into three groups of 18 people: Two intervention groups and one control group. Data collection tools were a demographic information form and a body image concern inventory (BICI), completed by interview. To analyze the data, MANCOVA, ANOVA, chi-square, and repeated measurements were used, and they were analyzed by SPSS v-21.

A statistically significant difference was found in the mean scores of total body image concern in the stage before the interventions (metacognitive therapy) and (acceptance and commitment therapy), after the interventions, and three months after the interventions (P < 0.05). A statistically significant difference was observed in the mean scores of body image concern in the interventions and control groups in the next phase of the intervention and three months later (P < 0.05).

Metacognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy reduced body image concerns in female hemodialysis patients. Therefore, these two interventions are recommended to reduce the body image concerns of female dialysis patients.