Directed Imagination: A Procedure for Improving Self-concept in Persons with Leprosy.
Research article:
Background: From the perspective of the Roy Adaptation Model, leprosy is seen as a focal stimulus with severe psychological repercussions that force persons to modify their behavior in order to avoid being rejected by the social stigma the disease creates, thus inducing in them an ineffective adaptive response of the self-concept mode. The aim of the present work was to describe the effect of the directed imagination technique at the adaptation level of the self-concept mode in persons with leprosy in Colima, Mexico during 2012.
Methods: A quantitative study with a pre-experimental, longitudinal, and prolective design was conducted. The sample was made up of 24 persons that were given a before-and-after self-concept test using the Viveros 03 instrument, which has a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.8581. The technique of directed imagination was employed; this procedure promotes the adoption of desirable behavior through exercising the imagination. The Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test was used for confirming effectiveness and a p ≤0.05 was regarded as a statistically significant value.
Results: The resulting adaptation levels found in the self-concept mode were the following: in the pre-test, the integrated level was 91.7% (n=22); in the post-test the integrated level rose to 95.8% (n=23). The difference between both tests was significant (p= 0.007).
Based on the above and considering all the effects leprosy causes in an individual, this study, conducted from the nursing perspective, attempted to describe the effect of the directed imagination procedure on the level of adaptation of the self-concept mode of the Sister Callista Roy Adaptation Model. This mode is defined as the combination of beliefs and feelings a person has about himself or herself at a given point in time, integrated by internal perceptions and the perceptions of others. The aim of the present work was to implement directed imagination as therapy for subjects with leprosy in an effort to achieve the following: strengthen their feeling of selfworth, motivate them, and improve their sensations and attitudes toward themselves, despite the social stigma caused by the diseas.