Investigating the Effectiveness of Paradox Therapy on Death Anxiety in Female Patients With Cancer

Abstract

Background: After cancer diagnosis, death anxiety continuously challenges the patient’s life. Individuals diagnosed with cancer are forced to think of and confront the end of their lives. Accordingly, this study determines the effect of paradox therapy on the death anxiety of female patients with cancer. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test-post-test control group design. The statistical population consisted of all female patients with cancer, referring to a specialized cancer treatment center in Ahvaz Province, Iran, from January 21 to February 19, 2023, who were first recruited by convenience sampling based on the inclusion criteria and then were randomly assigned into experimental (n=26) and control (n=26) groups. The data were collected using the death anxiety scale. The experimental group received 6 sessions of individual, face-to-face paradox therapy. The duration of each session was 45 min. The dependent variable was assessed at three distinct time points: Initially at the pre-test phase, subsequently upon the conclusion of the psychotherapy intervention, and finally, one month following the termination of psychotherapy. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and to test the research hypothesis, mixed analysis of variance was used in the SPSS software, version 25. The significance level was set at P<0.05. Results: A significant effect of time on death anxiety scores was observed (F=169.77, P<0.0001). Post hoc analysis revealed significant differences in the mean death anxiety scores across the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up assessments. A significant interaction between time and treatment group was also noted (F=153.58, P<0.0001). According to the Bonferroni test, the experimental group exhibited a significant reduction in death anxiety at the post-test compared to the pre-test (P<0.0001), and this reduction persisted at the follow-up stage (P<0.0001). Moreover, death anxiety continued to decrease from the post-test to the follow-up. These results supported the study hypothesis. Conclusion: By elevating our understanding of the effect of paradox therapy on death anxiety in cancer patients, the current research has tried to fill a major gap in psychosocial oncology. Perceiving the long-term effect of paradox therapy can lay the groundwork for following care plans and long-term support for cancer patients.

Keywords

• cancer
• death anxiety
• paradox therapy
• females