Comparison of the effectiveness of logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment on the death anxiety, resilience and hopelessness of women with multiple sclerosis

Background: It seems that logotherapy and acceptance and treatment based on acceptance and commitment can affect on death anxiety, resilience and hopelessness in women with multiple sclerosis (MS). The purpose of this study was to compare the efficacy of logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment on death anxiety, resilience and hopelessness in pattern with MS. Materials and methods: The method of this study was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test and follow up with the control group. The population of this study consisted of all women with MS in Tabriz City who were members of MS Society of Tabriz in 2019. In total, 30 women were selected by purposive sampling method, and randomly divided into three groups of logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment and control group. Members of both experimental groups received their own treatment respectively in 8 sessions of 1.5 hours. Data were analyzed by repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferroni post hoc test. Results: Logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment led to reduce death anxiety and hopelessness, and increase resilience compared to the control group in post-test of MS patients (P<0.001). In the follow-up phase, the effect of logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment on the death anxiety, resilience and hopelessness persisted (P<0.001). The effect of logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment on the death anxiety, resilience and hopelessness was not different at posttest and follow-up period. Conclusion: Logotherapy and treatment based on acceptance and commitment are likely to reduce death anxiety, thereby they lead to better cope with disease, increase resiliency, and reduce hopelessness in patients with MS.