Effectiveness of Positive Psychotherapy on Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure and Psychological Well-Being of Women with Hypertension:A Quasi-Experimental Study

Hypertension is a chronic disease and studies have shown that one-third of deaths from cardiovascular diseases are related to uncontrolled blood pressure. The present study was conducted with the aim of determining the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on systolic and diastolic blood pressure and psychological well-being of women with hypertension.

The present research method was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest, and follow-up design with a control group. The statistical population included all women with hypertension who referred to Valiasr Hospital in Rasht City in 2023, and 32 qualified volunteers were selected by the purposive sampling method. Psychological Well-Being Questionnaire (Ryff, 1995) and digital brachial sphygmomanometer were the instruments employed in this research. In order to perform intervention, positive psychotherapy was implemented for the experimental group in 8 sessions; while, there was no intervention for the control group. Data were analyzed using two-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The results showed that positive psychotherapy significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure and increased the psychological well-being of women with hypertension, so that this effectiveness had been lasting over the time (p<0.001).

The results of the present study showed that positive psychotherapy has been effective on systolic and diastolic blood pressure and psychological well-being of women with hypertension. Therefore, positive psychotherapy intervention can be used for solving the problems associated with patients suffering from hypertension in hospitals and private counseling centers by health professionals and nurses.