A randomized controlled trial of a nursing psychotherapeutic intervention for anxiety in adult psychiatric outpatients

Aim: To evaluate the short-term efficacy of a psychotherapeutic intervention in nursing on Portuguese adult psychiatric outpatients with the nursing diagnosis “anxiety.” Background: Several efficacious forms of treatment for anxiety are available, including different forms of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy. However, literature tends to favour findings from studies on the efficacy of psychotherapies and therapies provided by nurses to the detriment of those arising from studies on the efficacy of nursing psychotherapeutic interventions (interventions which are classified, for instance, on Nursing Interventions Classification). Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: The study was performed, between November 2016 - April 2017, at a psychiatry outpatient ward. Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention group (N = 29) or a treatment-as-usual control group (N = 31). Patients in the intervention group received psychopharmacotherapy with interventions integrated in the Nursing Interventions Classification for the nursing diagnosis “anxiety.” A treatmentas- usual control group received only psychopharmacotherapy (if applicable). Anxiety level and anxiety self-control were the primary outcomes. Results: Patients from both groups had reduced anxiety levels, between the pretest and the posttest assessment; however, according to analysis of means, patients in the intervention group displayed significantly better results than those of the control group. Furthermore, only patients in the intervention group presented significant improvements in anxiety self-control. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the short-term efficacy of this psychotherapeutic intervention model in nursing in the decrease of anxiety level and improvement of anxiety self-control in a group of psychiatric outpatients with pathological anxiety.