The Effects Of Stress Reduction On Stress Of Outpatients With Chronic Hepatitis B

Objectives: To examine the levels of stress of outpatients with chronic hepatitis B, to explore the effects of stress reduction on stress of outpatients with Chronic hepatitis B.Methods: The study used an experimental design, which was conducted at the outpatient department of the First and Second Xiang Ya Hospital of Central South University in Changsha, China. 80 patients was selected as the subjects of the study. The 80 patients who came from the outpatient department of the two hospitals during December 2005 to March 2006 were randomly allocated to a control or intervention group. The intervention group received stress reduction, which was designed specially by the researcher; while the control group just received the routine therapy and information. The stress reduction lasted 3 months. Instruments used for data collection were composed of two parts: Demographic Data Recording Form (DDRF) and the Perceived Stress Scale specific to Hepatitis B Patients (PSSH). Descriptive analysis, chi-square test, two-sample t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis H test, paired t-test and repeated measurement ANOVA were performed using with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) 13.0.Results: (1) The average score of PSSH of outpatients with Chronic hepatitis B is 32.35±10.52; (2) Education level, test of HBV markers can impact the level of stress; (3) Compared with the control group, the stress reduction decreased the stress of the patients in intervention group (P=0.000).Conclusions: (1) The stress of the outpatients with Chronic hepatitis B is at moderate level. (2) Education level, test of HBV markers can impact the level of stress of the outpatients with chronic hepatitis B. (3) The stress reduction can reduce the stress of the outpatients with chronic hepatitis B.