Open AccessEffectiveness of progressive muscle relaxation technique on anxiety caused by Covid‐19 in pregnant women: A randomized clinical trial
Author(s) -
Zendehdel Mojgan,
Elyasi Forouzan,
Jahanfar Shayesteh,
EmamiSahebi Azam
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
neuropsychopharmacology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.661
H-Index - 13
ISSN - 2574-173X
DOI - 10.1002/npr2.12241
Subject(s) - progressive muscle relaxation , randomized controlled trial , anxiety , medicine , intervention (counseling) , relaxation (psychology) , physical therapy , clinical trial , pregnancy , analysis of variance , psychiatry , biology , genetics
Aim To determine the effectiveness of the progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) technique on anxiety caused by Covid‐19 in pregnant women under the auspices of comprehensive health service centers in the nineteenth district of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Method This study is a randomized clinical trial. A total of 126 pregnant women were randomly allocated to the intervention group (N = 63) and control group (N = 63). All participants completed demographic questionnaires and the Corona Disease Anxiety Scale electronically. The intervention was held in six sessions through Sky Room (three times a week). It consisted of training and practicing the PMR. The intervention group was re‐evaluated with the related questionnaires immediately after the intervention and 2 weeks later, and the control group 2 and 4 weeks after the baseline. Results There was a significant difference between the control and intervention groups at the baseline ( P = .05). Nevertheless, analysis of variance test results showed that the difference between the intervention and control groups was found to be significantly different statistically; (22.92 ± 6.07) for intervention versus (28.13 ± 6.93) for control, with the second follow up ( P = .01). Conclusions Progressive muscle relaxation is used as a useful intervention to reduce anxiety in pregnant women during coronavirus pandemics educated and recommended with more emphasis and sensitivity in pregnancy care by healthcare providers.