Determination of the Effect of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Stress among Nurses at Yasuj Shahid Beheshti Hospital in 2009

Introduction & Objective: Stress is one of the most important phenomena in this century that has had a great impact on people’s mental and physical health and has become one of the main topics of organizational management. Primarily, nursing and taking care of patients is stressful itself. Therefore, in the working environment, any menace to organizational goals and reduction in the quality of nursing cares are due to stress. There are different therapeutic ways to deal with stress which cognitive behavioral therapy is one of them. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of cognitive behavior therapy on stress among nurses who worked at Yasuj Shahid Beheshti hospital in 2009. Materials & Methods: This was an experimental research that was carried out among 100 nurses working at Yasuj Shahid Beheshti hospital in 2009. The sampling type was available samples. After filling the DASS-42 questionnaire, we chose 30 cases that had the worst status from point of stress and were randomly divided into two groups: case and control groups. Each group consisted of 15 nurses. The cases were trained in 8 weeks, an hour a week, by a single clinical psychologist specialized in cognitive behavioral therapy. After the therapy, questionnaires were filled again by the two groups. Finally, two groups were compared together in view point of stress scores. For analysis of data we used the SPSS software and descriptive statistics, t-test and ANOVA. Results: The mean and standard deviations of stress in case group on the pre-test were7.96±18.73 and on the post test were 6.295±12.266 respectively, the mean and standard deviations of stress in the control group for pre-test were 8.413±21.066 and for post test were 9.019±20.733 respectively. There weren’t any significant differences between two groups before the intervention, but there were significant differences between case groups after the intervention. (p < 0.05). Conclusion: According to the findings of the study, cognitive behavioral techniques' training significantly reduces stress in nurses. Therefore, it is recommended to reduce nurses’ stress and increase the level of nursing services and promoting patients’ satisfaction by establishing a psychology consulting unit in hospitals