Effectiveness of Morita Therapy on Emotional Distress and Social Isolation of Older Adult Women with Chronic Knee Pain

Abstract

Introduction: People do health care not only to diagnose and relieve pain but also to reduce pain, anxiety, and loneliness in their daily lives. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Morita therapy among older women suffering from emotional distress and social isolation with chronic knee pain. Methods: The research method was pretest - posttest with a control group. The statistical population of the study included the older adults with chronic knee pain in the period of May to August 2020 in Tabriz, Iran. The sample consisted of 30 female patients aged 60-70 years with chronic knee pain who entered the study by convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to experimental and control group (15 patients each group). The research instruments included the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS). In the experimental group, Morita therapy was held during nine sessions for 90 minutes once a week. Results: The results of multivariate analysis of covariance showed significant effectiveness of Morita therapy on emotional distress and social isolation (p < 0.001). Morita therapy significantly reduced patients' depression and anxiety scores (Eta = 0.68). In addition, the social isolation scores of the experimental group significantly reduced compared to the control group (p < 0.001), which indicates an increase in the quality of social network (Eta = 0.49). Conclusion: Morita therapy can help reduce emotional distress and social isolation in older women with chronic knee pain and can be used in conjunction with other common therapies.