Effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on quality of life and self-efficacy in dialysis patients

Introduction: Amongst other problems, dialysis patients also present mental and psychological problems. Objectives: In this study, we investigated the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on quality of life and self-efficacy in hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: In a descriptive study, 50 hemodialysis patients undergoing dialysis in Hajar hospital were randomly selected and divided into two groups of experimental and control. The experimental group attended 2 to 2.5 hours treatment sessions according to the MBCT program. Before the intervention and two months after, the outcomes of the study, regarded as, quality of life and self-efficacy were evaluated using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Sherer et al’s General Self-efficacy Scale, respectively. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t test, paired t test, and Wilcoxon test in the Stata software. Results: The results indicated that 2 months after intervention, a decrease of 2.05 points in mean score for quality of life in the control group and an increase of 10.30 points in the intervention group at P<0.01 significance level was detected. Furthermore, mean self-efficacy score increased by 0.95 in control group and 5.2 points in the intervention group at P<0.01 significance level. While, the mean scores for quality of life and self-efficacy increased after intervention, the difference in the mean scores between the two groups was not statistically significant after intervention (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the MBCT program resulted in an increase in the mean scores for quality of life and self-efficacy in hemodialysis patients.