| Author: | Shun, Kwok-wah |
| Title: | Psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation training in managing anxiety for patients in acute psychiatric setting |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2004 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations Psychotherapy patients -- Rehabilitation Anxiety |
| Department: | School of Nursing |
| Pages: | xi, 130 leaves ; 30 cm |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | Anxiety is a common feeling that every individual would experience from time to time. However, not everyone is aware that excessive anxiety could impair our physical and mental well-being. Hospitalization is sometimes unavoidable for those patients who suffered from physical or psychiatric illness. For those acute psychiatric patients, involuntary hospitalization, reaction to the terrified psychotic experience or the possibility of developing acute dystonic reaction would further increase their anxiety level. To provide better psychiatric service, a structured psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation training programme to empower these patients' ability on managing anxiety, reduction of tension and enhance the overall psychological well-being was considered as an adjunct anxiety management service for the acute psychiatric patients. A combine psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation training programme was implemented in this study. 62 acute psychiatric patients received traditional psycho-pharmacological treatment were randomly assigned to either the training group, which received combine psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation training or the control group, which received only traditional psycho-pharmacological treatment without such training. Subjects assigned to the training group received a total of six one hour duration training sessions in two weeks. Pre- and post-test assessments were conducted for both training and control groups at similar time interval. Physiological measures of anxiety inchided systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure, and heart rate measured by an automated blood pressure monitor. Psychological measures of anxiety level included the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, General Health Questionnaire and Subjective Unit of Tension Scale. Independent t-tests were conducted to test for any significant difference in all dependent variables between psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation training group and the control group at the pre-test and post-test occasions. Paired sample t-tests were used to test for any significant difference at the pre- post-test occasions of all dependent variables for each group. The results revealed that both training and control groups have reductions in their anxiety levels. However, subjects received training obtained a much greater reduction in both physiological and psychological measures of anxiety at the post-test occasion, and some significant differences were found between both groups showing combined psych-education and progressive muscle relaxation training was more efficient in the reduction of anxiety level. The findings suggested this intervention serves a specific function and can be considered as an adjunct therapy used together with the traditional psycho-pharmacological medications to enhance the patients' ability to manage their anxiety. The findings of the present study support previous research that combined psycho-education and progressive muscle relaxation training was effective in the reduction of anxiety. It is suggested that studies in the future could include follow-up anxiety assessment to explore the sustainability of the training effect. The training programme in this study was conducted by a registered nurse under the supervision of a clinical psychologist. The successful outcome of the present study suggested that nurses are competent to give behavioural therapeutic intervention under suitable training, and this can compensate the scarcity of trained therapists in the health care services in Hong Kong. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b17452302.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 4.16 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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