Effect of Psychological Education Combined with Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training on the Symptom Cluster and Rehospitalization Rate of Elderly Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Objective:To investigate the effect of psychological education combined with progressive muscle relaxation training on the symptom cluster and rehospitalization of elderly patients with coronary heart disease.Methods:This study is a longitudinal randomized controlled study involving 140 elderly patients with coronary heart disease.The patients were divided into two groups:an intervention group and a control group,with 70 cases in each group,via random number table.The patients in the control group received routine nursing,whereas those in the intervention group received psychological education combined with progressive muscle relaxation training for 4 weeks on the basis of routine nursing.The effect of the intervention was evaluated before intervention,at the end of 1 month,3 months,and 6 months after intervention.Results:At the end of 1 month,3 months,and 6 months,the sleep,fatigue,anxiety,and functional status of the patients in the intervention group were significantly better than those of the control group,with statistical significance difference(P<0.05).The rehospitalization rate of the intervention group was lower than that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(X2=10.685,P=0.001).Conclusion:Psychological education combined with progressive muscle relaxation training is effective in alleviating the symptom cluster of elderly patients with coronary heart disease and reducing their rehospitalization rate;thus,it should be popularized.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Combined with Chinese Medicine Five-Element Music on Depression for Cancer Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objectives: To evaluate the effects of progressive muscle relaxation training(PMRT) combined with five elements music therapy of Chinese medicine(CM) for improving anxiety and depression of cancer patients. Methods: From June 2015 to March 2016, 60 cancer patients were included into the study. The patients were randomly assigned to a control group and a treatment group by envelope randomization, receiving PMRT and PMRT plus CM five elements music therapy, respectively, for 8 weeks. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale(HADS), Benefit Finding Scales(BFS), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual(FACIT-Sp), and Intervention Expectations Questionnaire(IEQU) were adopted to assess the depression of the two groups before and after the treatment. Results: Four cases dropped out during the study, and 29 cases in the treatment group and 27 in the control group were included in the final analysis. Prior to the treatments, the baselines of the 4 questionnaires in the two groups showed no difference. After the 8-week treatment, the treatment group presented better levels of HADS, BFS and FACIT-Sp scores compared with the control group(P<0.05). Among the single items of HADS, 4 items involving vexation, feeling fidgeted, pleasure and prospecting the future in the treatment group were improved compared with the control group(P<0.05). Conclusions: As a simple and reliable and effective intervention, PMRT combined with five elements music therapy mitigated anxiety and depression of cancer patients. Cancer patients have been found to respond well to psychological intervention in areas regarding stabilisation of emotions, disease awareness, and therapeutic compliance. This brings about a great difference in improving their quality of life and psychological state, offers an effective approach to better self-management in cancer treatment.