[Reducing anxiety and stress through hypnosuggestive technologies in patients in palliative practice.]

Palliative care was established by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation in 2011 (Order № 915n). It is defined as a set of medical interventions aimed at relieving pain and other painful symptoms, as well as improving the quality of life of patients with incurable diseases. The fundamental principles of palliative care are based on prioritizing the quality of life over its duration. The purpose of the study - to establish the effectiveness of hypnotherapy techniques in improving sleep parameters (latency, effectiveness, duration) in palliative patients of older age groups. The study was conducted on the basis of the Department of palliative care of of Bolshetroitskaya district Hospital of the Shebekinsky municipal District of the Belgorod region. A total of 114 therapeutic patients participated in the study. Sleep disorders were diagnosed in 78 patients (68,4%), who made up the main sample for further analysis. The 78 patients were randomly divided into two groups: the main group (n=40) and the control group (n=38). Patients of the main group on the background of standard therapy received a course of interventions according to the method of long-term therapeutic sleep-rest by A.N.Blinkov. Patients in the control group received only standard therapy, including symptomatic treatment and care, without using the studied technique. The average age of participants with sleep disorders was 84,3 years. The maximum age of participants is 90 years. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) was used to assess insomnia, the level of anxiety was determined by the Spielberger-Khanin scale (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI), and the level of depression was determined by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The patented technique of A.N. Blinkov was used. In the main group, there was a statistically significant improvement in all the parameters studied. The integral PSQI score improved from 10,47 to 4,53 points (p<0,01), which corresponds to a 56,7% improvement in sleep quality. The total anxiety index (STAI) decreased from 101,60 to 85,26 (p<0,01), and the depression index (BDI) decreased from 26,6 to 16,4 (p<0,001). There were no statistically significant changes in the indicators in the control group. Comparative analysis confirmed a significantly more pronounced improvement in all studied parameters in the main group (p<0,01).