Effectiveness of Bibliotherapy on Quality of Life, Distress and Depression among Chronic Leg and Foot Ulcer

Chronic leg and foot ulcer is an endangering health issue secondary to chronic venous insufficiency and Diabetes Mellitus. Apart from physical problems, psychological and emotional disturbances were arising as a co morbid conditions, which interfere with recovery and it could be managed by bibliotherapy. Study was focused to ascertain the effectiveness of bibliotherapy on quality of life, psychological distress and depression of these patients in an Indian context. Randomized controlled trial comparison with parallel group design was chosen. Interventional group received usual care along with bibliotherapy and control group received only usual care. Data were collected pretest, post test (1st week), I follow up (2nd week) and II follow up (3rd week). Cardiff wound impact schedule, Kessler’s psychological distress scale and Beck depression inventory were used. Bibliotherapy was prepared by the researcher based on literatures and qualitative study. Setting was limited to the selected hospitals in Mangalore, India. Power analysis estimated sample size as 50 in interventional group and 50 in control group. Findings imply that compared with controls, patients who received bibliotherapy demonstrated improved quality of life, reduced psychological distress and depression. Conclusively, it recommends psychosocial perspectives of these clients should not be neglected and supporting the therapeutic benefit of bibliotherapy in chronic physical illnesses to reduce mental health burden.