International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture
Volume:8 Issue: 4, Autumn 2021

 Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of death in Iran and the incidence of CVDs ‎is observed during individuals’ active ages. The quality of healthcare includes the doctor-patient relationship and, like other chronic conditions, it plays an important role in the treatment of CVDs. This relationship varies among health providers from different cultures. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the variables effective on and perceived needs for building doctor-patient relationships from health providers' point of view which can help patients with CVDs in Iran.

 The present qualitative study was performed in 2018 in Iran. We conducted a focus group with open-ended questions on the general study subject. Participants were selected using purposive sampling method based on their job experiences related to the subject of the study. We used the descriptive coding method for data analysis.

 Themes that affected the quality of the doctor-patient relationship include better communication among the health delivery system staff, patients having an active role in treatment decisions, physicians’ interpersonal communicative skills, physicians’ experiences, and the therapy setting in Iran.
 

 The most common gastrointestinal disorders are functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) of which functional indigestion is one of the most common types and causes the deterioration of ‎health and reduction of quality of life (QOL). This study was conducted with the aim to determine the effectiveness of emotion regulation training on metacognitive beliefs and pain perception in patients with functional indigestion.

 The present study was a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all patients with functional indigestion in Tehran, Iran, in 2020. The sample consisted of 30 patients who were selected through the convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to an experimental group (emotion regulation training) and a control group (each consisting of 15 people). The research tools included the Metacognitions Questionnaire (Wells & Cartwright-Hatton, 2004) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (Melzack, 1975). Data analysis was performed using analysis of variance in SPSS software.

 The findings showed that emotion regulation training was effective on metacognitive beliefs (P < 0.001) and pain perception (P < 0.001) in patients with functional indigestion.

 It can be concluded that emotion regulation training was effective on metacognitive beliefs and pain perception in patients with functional indigestion.

 Asthma is considered to be a psychosomatic disease with different physical and mental dimensions, each of which can exacerbate the other, and suitable treatment of this disease requires appropriate medical and psychological measures. The present study was an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy on anxiety, perceived stress, and medication adherence in patients with asthma.

 The present quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest, 2-group design and follow-up. The statistical population included all patients with asthma referred to the specialized and sub-specialized center of Milad Hospital in Tehran, Iran, in 2019. To form 2 groups, first, 30 people were selected using purposeful sampling method (considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria). Then, 15 people were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 15 people were assigned to the control group. The study research tools included the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; 1990), Perceived Stress Questionnaire Scale (PSS; Cohen et al., 1983), and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS; 2010). The collected data were analyzed using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) in SPSS software.

 The results showed that positive psychotherapy had a significant effect on the components of anxiety, perceived stress, and medication treatment in patients with asthma (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the effectiveness of positive psychotherapy was significant on the components of anxiety and medication adherence over time (P < 0.05).

 It can be concluded that positive psychotherapy was effective in reducing anxiety and increasing medication adherence.

 Anxiety provides the grounds for coronary heart disease (CHD) or aggravates the symptoms of the disease. The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) on anxiety in individuals with CHD.

 The research method was semi-experimental with a pretest-posttest design, control group, and follow-up stages. The statistical population of the study consisted of all heart patients in Tehran, Iran, from among whom 30 participants were selected through convenience sampling method. The study sample was randomly divided into experimental and control groups (15 individuals in each group). The experimental group received EFT training in nine 60-minute sessions, and the control group remained on the waiting list. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), developed by Beck, Epstein, Brown, and Steer (1988), was utilized to collect data in the pretest and posttest stages. Data analysis was conducted via descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS software.

 According to the obtained results, heart patients in the experimental group showed lower anxiety levels after receiving EFT (P < 0.05).

 Based on the results of this research, EFT can be an effective intervention in reducing anxiety in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

 Health anxiety is a psychological problem the behavioral consequences of which can lead to increased referrals to the health care system. This problem can be even more important during the coronavirus pandemic. This study was conducted with the aim to investigate the moderating role of coronavirus-related stress in the relationship of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and emotional dysregulation (ED) with health anxiety.

 This web-based, cross-sectional study was conducted on 403 individuals (54.8% women) with a mean age of 36.3 years. The data collection tools included the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale ‎(DERS), COVID Stress Scale (CSS), and Whitley Index (WI). Hierarchical regression and the Pearson correlation were used to analyze the data.

 The findings revealed that IU and ED explained 32% of the variance in health anxiety. The moderating role of coronavirus-related stress in the relationship of IU and ED with health anxiety was 12% (p < 0.01). In total, the research variables predicted large proportions of variance (R2 ≥ 0.45) in health anxiety.

 Regarding the specific complicated characteristics of the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting injuries, coronavirus-related stress (especially its 3 dimensions of danger and contamination fears, traumatic stress symptoms, and compulsive checking) appear to play an important role in health anxiety. In addition, the interaction of coronavirus-related stress with IU and ED significantly predicts an increase in health anxiety. Therefore, to reduce the burden of health anxiety, coronavirus-related stress interventions are required.

 Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common gastrointestinal disease. The present study was conducted to compare the effectiveness of self-efficacy-based training and compassion-focused therapy on depression, self-care behaviors, and quality of life (QOL) of patients with IBS.

 The present study was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The statistical population consisted of all patients with IBS referred to Khorshid Hospital in Isfahan city, Iran, between September and November 2019. The study participants were 45 patients with IBS, who were randomly divided into 2 equal-sized groups of intervention and control. The data were collected using the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, 1988), the Self-Care Questionnaire (Alizadeh Aghdam‎, Koohi, & Gholizadeh‎, 2016), and the Quality of Life Scale (Ware & Sherbourne, 1992). The collected data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS software.

 The results indicated that self-efficacy-based training and compassion-focused therapy positively affected depression (P < 0.001), self-efficacy behaviors (P < 0.001), and QOL (P < 0.001) of patients with IBS. However, compassion-focused therapy was more effective in the treatment of depression and the improvement of self-care behaviors and QOL than self-efficacy-based training (P < 0.001).

 It can be concluded that compassion-focused therapy was more effective in the treatment of depression and the improvement of self-care behaviors and QOL than self-efficacy-based training.