Effectiveness of Protocol based on Integrated View on Psychological Distress in Elderly

Abstract

Abstract Background: In the modern societies, the seniors are as one of the growing social groups that according to the age pyramid have increasingly become important. Accordingly, this study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the effectiveness of protocol based on integrated view on reducing psychological distress in the elderly. Materials and Methods: The type of this study was semi-experimental with pre-test post-test plan along with the control group. The statistical population includes all elderly that referred to Karaj Takht-e Jamshid hospital in the second half of the year 2016. Among them, 30 people were selected in form of available; then, randomly were placed in two 15 people experimental and control groups. Control group were treated based on integrated view protocol (three combination therapies consisting of cognitive- behavioral therapy, spiritual therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy). In this research, the short form questionnaire of psychological distress (DASS) was used for gathering the data in two stages of pre-test and post-test. The data were analyzed by using SPSS19 software and was analyzed by the covariance analysis method. Results: The results of covariance analysis showed that the protocol based on integrated view has led to the statistical significant difference (p<0.05) between the pre-test and post-test stages in the psychological distress score. Conclusion: According to the obtained results, the protocol-based on integrated view can be used as a proper and effective treatment method for the reduction of psychological distress in seniors