An Investigation on the Effect of Continuous Care on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Renal Transplant Patients
Zahra Salehi, Mohsen Taghadosi*, Mohammad Reza AfazelDepartment of Medical Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery ,Kashan University of Medical Sciences , Kashan , Iran *Corresponding author Email : taghadosi_m@kaums.ac.ir
Abstract: Renal transplant patients suffer from various mental and spiritual problems due to their fear of transplant rejection. In spite of some advancement in medical treatment of these patients, their mental problems are less considered. This research aims to study the effect of the continuous care on renal transplant patients’ depression, anxiety, and stress in Kashan. The study was conducted in 2014. This is a clinical trial with 80 participants randomly classified into two groups of 40. Finally, there were 35 in each group. Data were gathered by the demographic questionnaire and the specialized depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) completed before and after the intervention. The control group received ordinary care and the experimental group received the continuous care for 3 months. Data were then analyzed by descriptive statistic, paired sample t-test and Mann–Whitney test with SPSS13. The participants’ age mean was 48.19 ± 10.79. 43 were male and all transplantations were from mostly married strangers. There was no significant difference between two groups in terms of context features. Applying the continuous care model to the experimental group significantly reduced the mean scores for depression (p = 0.003), anxiety (p = 0.04), and stress (p = 0.01). However, no significant difference was observed in the control group. Additionally, there was no significant difference in depression, anxiety, and stress between two groups after the intervention. Applying the continuous care model reduces the mental disorders among renal transplant patients. So, to reduce the level of depression, anxiety, and stress, this model can be used.
Keywords: Depression; Anxiety; Stress; Continuous Care Model; Renal Transplantation Back to TOC