Comparison of the Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Relaxation Therapy (Relaxation) on Reducing Signs of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Nurses

Background: The first technique for relaxing the body's muscles and relieving fatigue is relaxation, but another method for improving chronic fatigue is cognitive-behavioral therapy. According to these definitions, the purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two methods of psychological treatment (cognitive-behavioral therapy) and muscle relaxation (relaxation) in reducing the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome in nurses. Materials and Methods: The research method was semi-experimental with control and experimental groups. The statistical population of the study consisted of all nurses working in public hospitals in Tehran. The research sample consisted of 36 subjects in two control groups and 36 subjects in two experimental groups. The sampling method used was available sampling. Firstly, in both control and experimental groups, nurses' fatigue was evaluated with a Chaldean Fatigue Questionnaire (1993) before teaching cognitive-behavioral therapy and muscular relaxation with a pre-test. Then the first experimental group was exposed to cognitive-behavioral education in 6 sessions of 1 hour, and the second experimental group was exposed to muscle relaxation training in 6 sessions of 1 hour and again the fatigue questionnaire was evaluated in all 4 groups with a post-test. Data analysis was done with Spss18 software, independent and dependent T tests and covariance analysis. Results: The findings of the study showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy and gradual muscular relaxation therapy had a significant effect on nurses' fatigue. According to the Eta coefficient squared at the level of α = 0.05, the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy training on nurses' fatigue reduction was 79.6%. There was no significant difference between the fatigue reduction of the two groups under different training groups (α = 0.05). Conclusion: Fatigue reduction in the group that received cognitive-behavioral education was more than fatigue reduction in the group that received gradual muscular relaxation therapy, but this difference was not statistically significant.