The Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management Therapy on Quality of Life in Infertile Women

Infertility is a major negative event in life which has deleterious effects on quality of life in infertile women and men. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral stress management (CBSM) therapy on quality of life in infertile women referring to Infertility and Gynecology Clinics in Yazd city. This is a quasi experimental study with a randomized pre-test and post-test group design with control group and a one month follow-up phase. Statistical population was 214 women referred to Infertility and gynecology clinicsin Yazd city in summer 2009. 24 infertile women were selected using available sampling and randomly assigned to experiment and control groups (12 women in each group). The experiment group received CBSM therapy for 10 weekly sessions. Data were gathered by using World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)and demographic characteristics questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS-15 in two levels including descriptive statistic and analysis of covariance. The findings showed that mean scores of life quality were increased significantly in post-test and follow-up phases in experiment group compared to control group (p=0.000). Results suggest that CBSM therapyis effective on improvingquality of life in infertile women. Due to reduced quality of life in infertile women and the effectiveness of mental interventions, special attention should be given to psychological treatment in this group of patients. This could cause mental health and improve quality of life in this group.