Effectiveness of Social Problem-Solving Skills Training on the Depression in Systolic Heart Failure Patients in Kermanshah

Background: Heart failure is common worldwide, and it is still expanding. Psychological factors such as depression are more effective on the consequences of this disease, which is necessary to seek a solution for controlling. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effect of social problem-solving skills training (SPSST) on depression in patients with heart failure. Methods: This semi-experimental study was conducted on two groups of ten male patients with heart failure in Kermanshah, Iran, randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, ten one-hour sessions of SPSST were done. The Beck depression inventory (BDI-13) was completed three times before, after, and three months after the intervention in both groups. The data were analyzed in SPSS v. 23 with t-test and ANCOVA to compare the groups. Results: There was a significant difference in the depression scores of the intervention group in the post-test (P = 0.000) and follow-up (P = 0.003) than before the intervention. However, there was no significant difference in the depression scores of the control group in all stages (P > 0.05). Conclusions: SPSST could improve the depression of patients with heart failure and prevent its complications, which is recommended for controlling the depression of heart failure patients.