The Effect of Guided Imagination on the Significant Anxiety of Cancer Patients

Introduction: State anxiety is one of the common psychological problems among cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of guided imagery on the state anxiety of cancer patients. Methods: This randomized, clinical trial study was conducted on 70 cancer patients who were randomly selected from the patients in the cancer ward of Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Kashan in 2019. The participants were assigned to two 35-member groups of intervention and control, filling demographic questionnaires and The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Then, the intervention group received 8 sessions of guided imagery, twice a week for four weeks and again filled out the anxiety inventory. The data were analyzed through SPSS 16 using Chi-square, t-test and ANOVA. and ANCOVA. Results: The results of ANCOVA test showed that there is a significant difference between the groups in the post-test compared to the pre-test. The mean scores of the imagery group in the state anxiety variables significantly decreased in the post-test (54.17±6.82) compared to those in the control group (41.67±6.45). (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that guided imagery can significantly reduce the anxiety symptoms in cancer patients, which can be useful in caring cancer patients while decreasing treatment cost.