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Soroushnia S, Alipour A, Aliakbari Dehkordi M. The Effect of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing on Anxiety in Female Patients With Breast Cancer. MEJDS 2020; 10 :240-240
URL: http://jdisabilstud.org/article-1-1687-en.html
1- Payame Noor University of Kish
2- Department of psychology, Payame Noor University
Abstract:   (1463 Views)
Background & Objectives: Breast cancer is among the most aggressive cancers with the highest mortality rate. It is also the most prevalent cancer among Iranian women. Breast cancer is associated with various reactions, including shock, infertility, fear, anxiety, agitation, anger, and hopelessness. Numerous patients with breast cancer encounter mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety. Besides, invasive interventions, such as surgery and chemotherapy exacerbate such symptoms, which sometimes persist for years after treatment. Thus, the recognition of this complication and finding strategies to cope with it are of great importance in reducing anxiety among patients. The current study aimed to explore the effects of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) intervention on anxiety in women with breast cancer.
Methods: This was a quasi–experimental study with a pretest–posttest–follow–up and a control group design. The statistical population of the study included all women with breast cancer who were referred to the Mehr Soheila charity organization In Karaj City, Iran, in 2016. Using the purposive sampling method, 30 subjects were selected and randomly divided into two groups of experimental and control (n=15/group). The inclusion criteria of the study were having breast cancer, residence in Karaj, an age range of 30–60 years, consent to participate in the research, the ability to answer questions, as well as initiating chemotherapy and pharmacotherapy. The exclusion criteria of the research were the lack of consent to participate in the research, providing incomplete and invalid information, and missing one intervention session. Beck's Anxiety Inventory (Beck et al., 1988) was used to collect the necessary data. The experimental group received four 45–minute weekly sessions (each session covered 8 essential steps) of EMDR based on Shapiro’s training package (2012); however, the control group received no treatment. The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS using repeated–measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Paired Samples t–test at the significance level of 0.05.
Results: The present study results suggested that the mean scores of anxiety in the experimental and control groups were significantly different in posttest and follow–up stages after controlling the pretest effect (p<0.001). Therefore, the presented EMDR intervention significantly reduced the level of anxiety in the posttest and follow–up phases among the study participants. Eta squared data indicated that approximately 41% of anxiety changes at posttest and follow–up steps were induced by the EMDR intervention. Paired Samples t–test results indicated significant differences between pretest and posttest (p<0.001) as well as pretest and follow–up phases (p<0.001) in the experimental group. However, no significant difference was observed between posttest and follow–up stages (p=1.000), reflecting the lasting effect of the intervention.
Conclusion: The current study findings suggested that the provided EMDR intervention reduced anxiety in women with breast cancer. Therefore, this treatment method is recommended for this population.
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Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Psychology

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