The Impact of Brisk Walking on Reducing Depressive Symptoms in Patients Hospitalized in Psychiatric Wards
Subject Areas : Research Journal of Sociological of SportDonya Seifollahi 1 , Parham Sadeghi 2
1 - M.A. in General Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Psychology, Islamic Azad University, Karaj Branch,Tehran,Iran
2 - Undergraduate student of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch, Iran
Keywords: BriskWalking, Depressive Symptoms, Patients Hospitalizein Psychiatric ,
Abstract :
Introduction:Depression is one of the most common and debilitating psychiatric disorders, severely affecting the quality of life of patients, especially those hospitalized in psychiatric hospitals. Due to the limitations and side effects of pharmacological treatments, there has been growing interest in complementary interventions, such as exercise therapy. This study aimed to investigate the impact of brisk walking on reducing depressive symptoms in patients hospitalized at Taleghani Hospital. Methods:This semi-experimental study utilized a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. Thirty patients diagnosed with moderate to severe depression were randomly divided into two groups: the experimental group (brisk walking) and the control group. The experimental group participated in five 30-minute brisk walking sessions per week for eight weeks. The severity of depression was measured using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) before and after the intervention. Data were analyzed using paired t-test, independent t-test, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The results indicated that depression scores in the experimental group significantly decreased after the intervention (P<0.01), while no significant changes were observed in the control group. ANCOVA analysis revealed that after controlling for pre-test scores, the difference between the groups was statistically significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: he findings of this study indicated that brisk walking led to a significant reduction in depressive symptoms among inpatients in the psychiatric ward. The statistically significant decrease in depression scores in the experimental group compared to the control group, as confirmed by various statistical analyses (paired t-test, independent t-test, and ANCOVA), suggests that a simple intervention such as brisk walking can play an effective role in improving the psychological well-being of patients. These results are consistent with previous research in this area.
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