Comparing the Effect of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Reality Therapy on Hemoglobin A1c in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is the most important marker for monitoring long-term blood Glucose level control in diabetes. Currently, psychological approaches along with medical science play a significant role in the symptoms of diabetes. The present study compared the effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Reality Therapy (RT) on HbA1c level in Type 2 Diabetic (T2D) patients. This semi-experimental study was conducted on 100 patients referred to diabetes clinics in Torbat Heydarieh, 2020. For this purpose, 60 patients were selected using the available method and were randomly allocated into two experimental groups and one control group (equally 20 people in each group). Data collection tools included the blood glycosylated hemoglobin test and demographic information. Data analysis was done using SPSS and covariance analysis. Findings revealed that there is a significant difference between the HbA1c scores of ACT, RT with control groups in T2D patients. The mean of HbA1c after the intervention in the ACT group significantly decreased compared to the RT group (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that ACT is more effective in T2D patients than RT. Therefore, this technique can be used in order to improve the control indicators of T2D patients.