Efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing on the Quality of Life in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abdolhadi Jahanfar,1 Zhila Fereidouni,2 Mohammad Behnammoghadam,1 Azizallah Dehghan,3 Somayeh Bashti1 1Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, Iran; 2Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Nursing School, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Fars, Iran; 3Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, IranCorrespondence: Zhila FereidouniDepartment of Medical Surgical Nursing, Nursing School, Fasa University of Medical Sciences, Fasa, Fars, IranEmail fereidounizhila@gmail.comMohammad BehnammoghadamDepartment of Critical Care Nursing, Yasuj University of Medical Sciences, Yasuj, IranEmail mbehnam1363@gmail.comIntroduction: The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) on the quality of life (QOL) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).Methods: This is a randomized clinical trial study that investigated the efficacy of EMDR on the QOL in patients with MDD. In this study, all patients suffered from psychological trauma were currently in a major depressive episode and had a history of depression. 70 patients with MDD were selected through convenience sampling. Patients were then assigned to two groups of intervention and control (35 patients in each group). The assignment was performed randomly. For the intervention group, EMDR were performed in eight 90 mins sessions over 3 weeks. For the control group, no intervention was considered. Data on the QOL were collected using the WHO Quality of Life-BREF instrument before and after the treatment, and analysed using descriptive tests, paired t-test, independent t-test, and chi-square with SPSS v19.Results: This study showed that the QOL in all its domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environments) was significantly improved in patients with MDD in the intervention group after 8 sessions of EMDR. The pos