Comparing the Effectiveness of Schema Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) on Health-Promoting Lifestyle (HPL) and Quality of Life (QoL) in HIV/AIDS Patients

The main objective of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of schema therapy and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) on health-promoting lifestyle (HPL) and quality of life (QoL) of HIV/AIDS patients. 

The current study was an experimental study based on a pre-test-post-test design with a control group, and based on the objectives, it can be considered an applied study. The statistical population of the study included all HIV patients monitored by behavioral disorders clinics of the Healthcare Organization Centers in Hamedan County in Iran in 2019-2020. Using simple random sampling method, 45 patients were randomly selected from Shohada Clinic in Hamedan as the sample of the study, followed by randomly assigning them to three 15-member groups, i.e., two intervention groups and a control group. In order to measure the research variables, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) (1987) and the Short Form (36) Health Survey (SF-36, 2001) were utilized. The obtained data were analyzed using ANCOVA in SPSS v. 12.

The Ethics Committee of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences approved the study (Code: IR.UMSHA.REC.1398.1063). This study has been registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (Code: IRCT20120215009014N348).

The results of ANCOVA indicate that schema therapy and DBT affect HPL and quality of life, and there was a significant difference between the two groups (P<‌0.001). 

The results show that while both therapy methods affect the selected variables, schema therapy is more effective than DBT on HPL and Quality of Life (QoL).