Comparison of The Effects of Cognitive Therapy and Logotherapy on Iranian Elderly People’s General Health

BACKGROUND: Mental health promotion programs in the elderly are important. The main objective of the present study was to compare the effects of cognitive therapy and logotherapy on the general health of elderly people who referred to health centers. METHODS: This is a quasi-experimental study with pretest-posttest design using a control group. A sample of 90 elderly people was recruited from health centers located in Rafsanjan, between April 2017 and June 2017. 30 participants were considered in each group, separately (cognitive therapy (N=30), logotherapy (N=30), and control (N=30)). Cognitive therapy and logotherapy programs were implemented in eight 90-minute sessions, while people in the control group received neither cognitive therapy nor logotherapy. The demographic questionnaire was used at baseline. The 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) was used in two steps of pre-test and post-test. The study data were analyzed through independent t-test, Chi-square, one-way ANOVA, and the Tukey’s post hoc tests; SPSS 18 was used to analyze the data, and P<0.05 was considered as significant. RESULTS: The mean GHQ-28 total scores before the intervention in the cognitive therapy and logotherapy groups and control group were 52.53±2.55, 52.63±5.64, and 52.26±4.09, respectively, which were not significantly different (P=0.94). However, after the intervention these scores were 41.60±3.31, 40.46±3.97 and 51.93±4.22, respectively, and the difference between the two intervention groups and control group was statistically significant (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the two intervention groups (P=0.49). CONCLUSIONS: Group cognitive therapy is as effective as logotherapy in improving the elderly people’s general health.