Comparing the Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness Interventions for Enhancing Diabetes Self-Care in Depressed Women with Gestational Diabetes: A One-Month Follow-Up Study

Background: The present research was conducted with the aim of comparing the effectiveness of cognitive therapy and mindfulness on self-care in depressed women with gestational diabetes. Methods: The research method was semi-experimental. The statistical population consisted of depressed individuals with gestational diabetes referring to the healthcare centers of Tehran Rey district. ۴۵ individuals were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to three groups cognitive therapy, mindfulness, and control. Two intervention groups of cognitive therapy and mindfulness received ۸ sessions of ۶۰ minutes each. The research instruments included the Summery of Diabetes Self-care Activities scale (SDSCA) and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale.  Results: Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and mixed analysis of variance method. The results indicated that mindfulness has a significantly greater effectiveness on self-care behavior (p < ۰.۰۱). However, both cognitive therapy and mindfulness methods led to increased diabetes self-care activities (p < ۰.۰۱). After a one-month follow-up, the effect of cognitive therapy persisted (p > ۰.۰۵), whereas mindfulness was associated with a significant decrease in effectiveness (p < ۰.۰۱). Conclusion: Both methods were effective in increasing diabetes self-care activities. The initial effect of the mindfulness method was dramatically higher than that of cognitive therapy. In the follow-up phase, mindfulness showed a decreasing trend although it still maintained its superiority over cognitive therapy. Further research is needed to better understand these differences and optimize interventions for long-term outcomes.

Keywords:

Gestational Diabetes , Mindfulness , Cognitive Therapy , Self-Care