SPECIFIC PSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF NEW PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS PATIENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC CARE DURING IN-PATIENT TREATMENT

Abstract

The objective of the study: to compare psychological features of the patients referring for psychological care during treatment of tuberculosis and of those who did not need it.Subjects and methods. 78 new pulmonary tuberculosis patients (median age was 31.3 ± 10.6 years old) were included into the study; all of them were diagnosed with psychological disorders of various severity when admitted to Central Tuberculosis Research Institute for in-patient treatment. The main group included 33/78 (42.3%) patients who referred for psychological help during anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. 45/78 (57.7%) patients didn't receive any psychological support during anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy (comparison group). There was no significant difference between the number of patients in those groups (χ2 = 1.846; p > 0.1). In both groups, women significantly prevailed over men. Women made 89.5% of cases in the main group (χ2 = 18.944; p < 0.001), and 83.3% of cases in the comparison group (χ2 = 18.68; p < 0.001). The psychological status was assessed by the admission and completion of chemotherapy in the hospital using the Symptom Check List (SCL–90–R). In addition to assessing the current psychological status, we studied the forms of destructive responses, interpersonal interaction styles, quality of life, level of subjective control in various life aspects, and also assessed subjective well-being of the individual.Results. It was found out that the specific psychological features of the patients from the main group were significantly different from the ones of the comparison group (higher level of depressive disorders, less pronounced symptoms of negative affective states, suspicion and negativity towards other people); the difference also included a higher level of internality towards failures and family relations, lower psychological resources needed for positive functioning, and communication and emotional characteristics of the individual. It was demonstrated that patients referred for psychological support not only due to actual problems in the mental sphere, but also due to its specific features, as well as the patient’s personal qualities.

Keywords

• туберкулез легких
• психологический статус
• психологическая помощь
• личностные особенности