The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Teaching on Depression of Nurses in the Teaching Hospitals of Birjand

Introduction: As one of the members of the care team, nurses are confronted with a lot of work-associated stress whereby they will experience depression if the situation continues. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of cognitive-behavioral group training on nurses' depression at 2017. Methods: In this randomized controlled field trial, 40 nurses from the teaching hospitals affiliated with Birjand University of Medical Sciences were selected through convenience sampling method and randomly allocated into two groups. The cases received logical cognitive behavioral group training for 8 one-and-a-half hour sessions. Nurses in both groups completed Beck Depression Inventory before, immediately after, and two months after the intervention. Data were analyzed in SPSS 18 software, using independent t-test, intra-group ANOVA, Bonferroni test, Mann-Whitney U test, Friedman tests, Wilcoxon test, and Fisher's exact test at the significance level of 0.05. Results: The mean depression scores of the case group immediately and two months after the intervention reduced significantly compared with before the intervention; in the control group nurses, the score immediately after the intervention decreased significantly compared to before the intervention (p <0.05). However, the mean score changes before and after the intervention, and before and two months after the intervention reduced significantly in the case group compared with that of the control group (p <0.05). Conclusion: According to the results, this therapeutic approach can be used as an effective therapeutic activity in decreasing depression of nurses in order to promote health and care purposes.