effect of peer support group on the level of depression in type 2 diabetic patients: a randomized clinical trial

Background: depression is one of the most common psychological problems in diabetic patients. peer support groups focusing on shared experiences may affect patients' minds. aim: this study aimed to evaluate the effect of peer support groups on the level of depression in type 2 diabetic patients. method: this randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted on 64 patients with type 2 diabetes in sabzevar, iran, during 2018. the level of depression was assessed before and six weeks after the intervention using the beck depression inventory-ii. the intervention group attended peer support group sessions, whereas the control group received training by a nurse at the diabetes center. the data were analyzed in stata software (version 12) using repeated measures anova. results: according to the results, the mean ages of the patients were 51.7±9.2 and 51.5±8.5 years in the intervention and control groups, respectively. moreover, the total depression scores in the intervention and control groups were obtained at 24.7±2.9 and 23.3±2.8, respectively. however, these values changed to 15.1±6.1 and 24.3±4.8 immediately after the intervention, as well as 15.8±6.1 and 24.7±4.3 six weeks later, in the intervention and control groups, respectively. the repeated measures anova revealed a significant difference between these two groups in terms of the effect of the group (p<0.001), the effect of time (p<0.001), and mutual effect (p<0.001).implications for practice: peer support group could decrease the level of depression in diabetic patients therefore, it is recommended that peer education be considered as a part of patients’ therapeutic program with the aim of reducing mental symptoms.