Hospital Practices and Research

Abstract Background: Infertility is a significant psychosocial stressor associated with adverse mental health outcomes. Given the intricate link between mental health and self-concept, enhancing self-concept may be crucial for improving overall well-being among infertile women.
Objectives: The present study aimed to enhance self-concept in infertile women through Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental design with a three-wave (pre-test, post-test, 45-day follow-up) assessment and two groups: experimental and control. To conduct the research, 40 infertile women referring to the Isfahan Infertility and Infertility Center in 2023 were selected conveniently based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 20) and control (n = 20) groups. The participants completed the Beck Self-Concept Test in three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The experimental group participated in an eight-week MBCT intervention, consisting of one 90-minute session per week. The control group received no intervention during this period. Data were subjected to repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SPSS-24.
Results: The findings indicated that MBCT significantly improved self-concept in infertile women in the social skills dimension (P <0.01). The significant improvement in self-concept, particularly in the social skills dimension, suggests that MBCT can be a helpful intervention for this population.
Conclusion: Infertility-related social isolation and diminished self-concept may be ameliorated through MBCT. This study demonstrates that MBCT can enhance social interaction skills in infertile women, thereby positively influencing their overall self-concept. These results support MBCT as a beneficial approach for enhancing the mental health of women facing infertility.

Abstract Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women.
Objective: This study was performed to determine the symptoms of menopause and quality of life in women with and without breast cancer.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study was performed in hospitals of Babol, Mazandaran province, Iran, in two groups of women with and without breast cancer. The study population included all women with menopausal symptoms who were divided into two groups containing 100 women apiece. A checklist containing menopausal symptoms was collected from these two groups and the standard questionnaire EORTC-QLQ-C30 was utilized to assess the quality of life in the case group and the standard questionnaire SF-36 was used in the control case. Data were analyzed by SPSS software.
Results: Depression and insomnia were significantly higher in the case group and control group, respectively (p <0.05), but other symptoms of menopause were not significantly different in the two groups (P>0.05). In the case group, the overall quality of lifewas assessed as good in 36.3% of patients. Also, the quality of life in the control group had the lowest score relevant to the item Neshat with an average of 55.6 and the highest score related to the item of social performance with an average of 73.25.
Conclusion: According to the results, the symptoms of menopause in women with breast cancer were not much different from women without breast cancer. Meanwhile, the quality of life of women with a history of cancer was good.