The International Congress on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Email: nzaeri2010@gmail.com
2. MSc of Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology,
Chamran University, Ahwaz, Iran
Objectives: Valerian is an ancient medicinal
herb with the scientific name of Valeriana
officinalis, known for its soothing effects. Today,
we are increasingly facing tension on a daily
basis, especially at workplace, and some jobs
involve high levels of stress, which negatively
affect the health of individuals. This study aimed
to evaluate the effects of valerian extract on
anxiety among nurses.
Materials and Methods: This controlled clinical
trial was conducted on 38 nurses with high levels
of anxiety engaged at the emergency departments
of different hospitals in Jahrom, Iran. Subjects
were randomly divided into two gro ups of
intervention and control. Oral capsules containing
530 mg of valerian root were prescribed for the
intervention group two times daily for eight
weeks, and placebo (similar capsules containing
starch) was given to the control group. Data were
collected using Beck Anxiety Inventory (1990).
Data analysis was performed in SPSS V.19.
Results: After 8 weeks of intervention, level
of anxiety reduced more significantly in the
intervention group compared to the control
group, and there was a significant difference in
the anxiety score of both groups (p<0.001).
Conclusion: According to the results of this
study, valerian extract could be effective
in reducing anxiety, and since this herb is
associated with no side effects, it could be used
as a complementary treatment for the reduction
of anxiety in different individuals.
Keywords: Valerian, Anxiety, Nurses
HN10106010475
The effect of progressive muscle
relaxation training on perceived
stress of working women having
psychosomatic symptoms
Somaye Zaeri1*, Najme Zaeri2
1. MSc of Industrial and Organizational Psychology,
Faculty of Education and Psychology, Ahvaz
University of Chamran, Ahvaz, Iran. Email:
somaye.zaeri@gmail.com
2. Basic medical professional doctoral student,
150 AJP, Vol. 5, Suppl. 1, Oct 2015
Faculty of Medicine, University of Medical
Sciences, Jahrom, Iran
Objectives: Stress is one of the main causes or
intensifiers of psychosomatic disorders; we can
easily reduce its negative effects using effective
ways of coping. What matters most is having the
ability to improve the stress coping method in a
way that the effects of stressors are minimized.
Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect
of progressive muscle relaxation training on
perceived stress.
Materials and Methods: The present research
is experimental and of pretest-posttest kind
with a control group. The sample population
consisted of 40 working women who referred
to one of the consulting centers of Abadan with
psychosomatic symptoms; they were randomly
divided into two groups of control and test.
The test group had 8 sessions of relaxation
training in 4 consecutive days. The Perceived
Stress Questionnaire (Cohen, 1983) was used to
measure stress. Data was analyzed using SPSS
(ver. 19) and covariance analysis.
Results: Findings showed that muscle relaxation
training led to a decrease in perceived stress in
the test group; the posttest difference between
the two groups is significant (p<0.01).
Conclusion: Relaxation as one of the stress
control and management practices was effective
in working women with psychosomatic
symptoms. Therefore, it can be used as a non-
drug, simple, and cost-effective complementary
treatment method for decreasing stress.
Keywords: Muscle relaxation, Perceived stress,
Psychosomatic symptoms
HN10105400494
Effects of therapeutic touch on
anxiety in patients with cancer
Amir Tabatabaee1, Mansoure Zagheri
Tafreshi2*, Maryam Rasouli3, Seyyed Amir
Aledavood4, Hamid Alavi Majd5, Seyyed
Kazem Farahmand6
1. PhD Candidate of Nursing, Department of
Nursing, International Branch, Shahid Beheshti
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Management,
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti
University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
 The International Congress on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Email: tafreshi45@hotmail.com
3. Associate Professor, Department of Pediatric
Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery,
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences,
Tehran, Iran
4. Associate Professor, Department of Radiotherapy
and Oncology, Mashhad University of Medical
Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
5. Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School
of Paramedicine, Shahid Beheshti University of
Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
6. Assistant Professor of Traditional Medicine,
Mashhad University of Medical Sciences,
Mashhad, Iran
Objectives: Use of complementary and alternative
medicine techniques is following a rising trend.
The National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine categorizes therapeutic
touch (TT) as a biofield energy therapy. The aim
of this study was to assess the effects of TT on
anxiety in patients with cancer.
Materials and Methods: The present clinical trial
was conducted in 2015. Sixty male participants
with cancer were randomly assigned into three
groups: intervention group (n=20, 10-15 min of
TT in seven sessions), placebo group (n=20, 10-
15 min of simulated touch in seven sessions) and
control group (n=20, routine therapy). The study
tools included a demographic questionnaire and
Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, used to evaluate
anxiety before and after four and seven sessions
of intervention. For data analysis, descriptive
statistics, ANOVA and Tukey’s test were applied,
using SPSS version 18.
Results: Data analysis showed a significant
difference in anxiety scores before and after the
intervention in the three groups (p<0.001). The
mean anxiety was not significantly different
between the three groups before the intervention
(F=3.720, p=0.491). However, there was a
significant difference in mean anxiety between
the groups after the fourth (F=3.64, p=0.033)
and seventh sessions (F=33.35, p=0.000).
According to Tukey’s test, the intervention
group was significantly different from the
placebo and control groups (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Based on the current findings, TT
was shown to be a non-invasive intervention
for improving anxiety in patients with cancer.
Keywords: Therapeutic touch, Anxiety, Cancer,
Patient
AJP, Vol. 5, Suppl. 1, Oct 2015
HN10107080754
Traditional Persian medicine (TPM)
approach to psoriasis treatment
Zeinab Zaheri1*, Atena Ezzati2, Fatemeh
Amini4, Rahil Ghanavati1, Leila Shirbeigi5,
Foroog Namjoyan1,3
1. Traditional Iranian Pharmacology Department,
Faculty of Pharmacology, Jundishapur University
of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. Email: Zeinab.
zaheri@yahoo.com
2. School of Pharmacology, Jundishapur University
of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
3. Pharmacognosy Department, School of
Pharmacology, Jundishapur University of Medical
Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
4. Traditional Medicine Department, Faculty
of Traditional Medicine, Shiraz University of
Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
5. Traditional Iranian Medicine Department, Faculty
of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of
Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Objectives: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory
skin disease with a recurrent nature. Treatment
of this disorder takes long due to patients’
non-compliance and its severe side effects.
Traditional Persian medicine (TPM) is an
ancient medical system dating back to 6000
years ago, originating from Persian regions, the
most important of which was Iran. This research
is designated to determine the treatments and
natural remedies that ancient Iranian scientists
have used to treat lesions described with
symptoms close to common modern psoriasis.
One of the complexities of using TPM known
diseases is describing and finding the current
medical problems in the traditional medicine
manuscripts.
Materials and Methods: In this study, using
TPM treatment books such as, Tebb-e- akbary,
Exir-e-azam, Moalejat-e-Aghili and Alhavy,
the symptoms of psoriasis were matched with
diseases that were described with similar
symptoms as psoriasis, such as Bahaq-e- asvad,
baras-e- asvad , saafe , Guba. Search for herbal
remedies was done using the keywords found
in the main TPM manuscripts, especially in
remedy (Mofradat) and treatment (Moalejat)
TPM books. Herbs mentioned for different
TPM keywords were investigated for effects
on psoriasis. Searches were performed in the
digital libraries and databases with the keywords
151
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