The Effect of Problem-Solving Skill on Reducing the Psychological Outcomes of Gestational Diabetes

Background and Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common medical problem during pregnancy. As glucose intolerance is accompanied by some maternal and fetal complications, it is essential to take the necessary actions with low side-effects to reduce adverse prenatal complications and improve the psychological effects of GDM. Therefore, the present research is intended to apply problem-solving skill in reducing the psychological outcomes of GDM in Zanjan City.Materials and Methods: This research was conducted as a controlled clinical trial. The samples including76 women with GDM were selected using blocked randomization and two intervention and control groups totally with 38 participants. Data collection tools was Cohen’s Perceived Stress Scale (PSS14) and WHO Quality of Life (WHOQOL) Scale. For the intervention group, six sessions two times per week lasting 45-60 minutes each session were held and the control group received routine prenatal care. The data was analyzed by Mann-Whitney test, independent t-test, and repeated measurement ANOVA using SPSS 17 software.Findings: the results of current study indicated that pre-intervention average stress scores in the intervention and control groups were 29.44±5.076 and 28.84±5.19, respectively and post-intervention scores were 18.71±5.24 and 28.73±5.31 respectively in the intervention and control groups while a month after the intervention these scores reached 18.21±4.83 and 28.78±5.34, respectively in the intervention and control groups so that this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05). In addition, the average difference of the subscale scores in the QoL mental domain was significant pre- and post-intervention and quality of life measures improved in its mental domain. The pre-intervention average scores of QoL mental domain in the intervention and control groups were 51.75±9.17 and 50.87±14.50, respectively and immediately after intervention, these scores were 61.18± 7.33 and 49.44±13.43, respectively. Moreover, a month post-intervention, these scores reached 61.96± 7.74 and 49.11± 13.63, respectively in the intervention and control groups. This difference was statistically significant (p<0.05).Conclusions: Problem-solving skill as a component of comprehensive prenatal care can improve the psychological outcomes of GDM.

Keywords:

problem solving skills , stress , psychological , gestational diabetes , quality of life