مقايسه اثربخشي دو روش درمان روانشناختي در كاهش علايم نشانگان خستگي مزمن در پرستاران زن شهر تهران

Comparing the Effectiveness of two Psychological Approaches in the Symptom Improvement of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome among Tehran Female Nurses

This study was aimed at comparing the effectiveness of cognitivebehavioral therapy (CBT) and progressive muscular relaxation technique (PMRT) in the symptom improvement of nurses diagnosed as suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). All female nurses working in Tehran Medical Sciences University Hospitals were considered as the population under study, 1088 of whom were selected through a stratified random sampling method for CFS screening. From those diagnosed with CFS, 72 subjects were randomly assigned to three experimental groups (24 subjects in each group), and then 24 "healthy nurses" (Le., CFS nonsufferers) working in the same hospitals were also randomly selected and assigned to the control group. Therefore, four groups were formed: CBT group, PMRT group, CFS control group, and a "normal group". The recovery indices (i.e. dependent variables) employed were subjects fatigue, emotional distress, and dysfunctions, which were measured twice (i.e., before and after interventions) by Chalderʹs Fatigue Scale. Results indicate that CBT was more effective than PMRT in the reduction of fatigue and dysfunctions, while PMRT was more effective than CBT in the improvement of subjectsʹ emotional distress. Both CBT and PMRT were found to be more effective than no treatment condition regarding all three dependent measures.