Effectiveness of group cognitive-behavioral training on physiological indicators and communication skills in the hospital staffs

High levels of stress in the health professionals and deficit in communication skills of this group can endanger their mental health and reduce their job efficacy. Current study aimed to identify the effectiveness of the group cognitive-behavioral training on physiological indicators and communication skills of the hospital staff. This was a semi-experimental study using pre-test-post-test design. The sample group consisted of 32 people (16 experimental and 16 control groups) in one of the randomly selected Tehran hospitals. Intervention program was conducted weekly in 4 sessions each 4 hours on the subjects of the experimental group. Data were collected using Physiological Reactions to Stress (PRS) and Communication Skills Test-Revised (CSTR) before and after the intervention from both groups and was analyzed by analysis of covariance using SPSS software (v. 19). The results showed that the cognitive-behavioral training significantly increased the mean of communication skills and a significant reduction of physiological indicators in the experimental group compared with the control group. Group cognitive-behavioral training is an effective way to improve mental health of health staff. Therefore, more attention from the health managers and clinical health researchers is needed in this field.