The effects of relaxation therapy on hypertension

Coombs, Adrian Desmond (1985) The effects of relaxation therapy on hypertension. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In this study the effects of relaxation therapy on the control of hypertension were examined. From each of four rural clinical settings 10 hypertensive subjects, age 24 to 55 years, total of 18 males and 22 females, were assigned to the following conditions: (1) No-treatment control; (2) Relaxation; (3) Education; and (4) Education Plus Relaxation. In the Relaxation condition the subjects received four 45-minute sessions of group relaxation while the Education condition received four 20-minute education sessions consisting of a slide-and-tape presentation and a 20-minute group discussion. The Education Plus Relaxation condition combined the procedures of the Relaxation and the Education conditions. For all conditions the subjects' blood pressure measures were taken on four occasions, at a pretreatment session, after the final treatment session, and during the 2-week and 4-week follow-up sessions. A 3-way analysis of variance (Conditions x Sessions x Pressures) was performed with the subjects nested under the four conditions. -- A significant Sessions effect, a significant Sessions x Conditions interaction, and a significant Session x Pressures interaction were found. Although this was not the main intention of this study it did make methodological contributions by demonstrating the weakness of the single group design on which other studies in this area have frequently relied. In the future much more attention must be paid to a careful and standardized methodology.

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