The Effect of acceptance and commitment therapy on mental health and sexual desire of women with MS during Covid-19 Pandemic

Women with multiple sclerosis have always faced many challenges, and their mental and sexual health are important concerns for health systems. So the present study aims to determine the effect of treatment based on acceptance and commitment on the mental health and sexual desire of women with MS during Covid-19 pandemic.

The method of the current research was semi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design with a control group. The statistical population of the research was made up of women suffering from MS in Hamadan city in 2019. The sampling method was the available method, based on which 40 people were randomly placed in two groups of 20 people, experimental and control. Then the treatment based on acceptance and commitment was implemented on the experimental group during eight 90-minute sessions, but the control group did not receive the intervention. The research tools included two questionnaires of sexuality by Halbert and Apt (1992) and mental health by Goldberg (1979). In order to analyze the data, univariate and multivariate covariance analysis was used.

The analysis of the results showed that the treatment based on acceptance and commitment causes a significant increase in the average sexual desire of women with MS. Also, the average physical dysfunction, anxiety and social dysfunction also decreased significantly. But it had no effect on the depression of women with MS.

Acceptance and commitment therapy can play an important role in improving the level of mental health, sexual desire and, as a result, the quality of life of women with MS in the difficult conditions of the Covid-19 pandemic.