Impact of Fordyce Happiness training program on depression severity among patients receiving hemodialysis: An experimental study.

Background: Depression is a common problem in hemodialysis patients and needs to be treated effectively. The Fordyce Happiness Program, an educational and performance-based intervention that promotes happiness, has shown promise as a complementary therapy to alleviate psychological disorders. This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of this program on the level of depression in hemodialysis patients at the hemodialysis department of Taleghani Treatment and Education Center, Urmia.

Materials and methods: This double-blind randomized experimental study was conducted between October 5, 2021, and March 9, 2022. The research population included 60 hemodialysis patients who were randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group received the program for 30 min during each hemodialysis session, once a week, totaling six sessions. The program encompassed communication, interviewing, and active listening techniques to enable patients to independently address their problems. The control group received standard care. Data were collected using two demographic characteristics and Beck Depression questionnaires. To assess the normality of the data, histogram and normal Q-Q plot tests were used. Chi-square tests were utilized to compare demographic factors between the two study groups. The Persian-language version of the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II) scores was analyzed using either the Mann-Whitney U test or the Kruskal-Wallis test, depending on the specific comparisons being made. A P value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: There was a significant difference in the mean depression scores immediately after the intervention and at the fourth week of the study when comparing the experimental group to the control group. After the intervention, the experimental group had a mean depression score of 15.95 ± 3.35, while the control group had a mean depression score of 18.23 ± 2.85. At the fourth week of the study, the experimental group had a mean depression score of 17.26 ± 2.89, whereas the control group had a mean score of 20.01 ± 1.36.

Conclusion: The program showed promise in significantly reducing depression scores in patients receiving hemodialysis. However, a larger sample size to strengthen the evidence base and facilitate the integration of this program into routine clinical practice is needed.