Comparison of effectiveness of face to face and telephone-based counseling with EXPLISSIT approach on marital interaction and quality of life of women attending health centers of Tabriz city during Covid 19 epidemy: A Quasi-experimental study

Background. Quarantine and social distancing due to COVID 19 has led to anxiety, anger, stress, and anger in people and has had a negative impact on physical and mental health and the quality of marital relationships. Due to the lack of sufficient studies and also the fact that no study was found in the literature review that compared this approach over the phone and face-to-face, this study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effect of telephone and face-to-face counseling with the explicit approach on women's marital interactions. Methods. This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2022 in the health centers of Tabriz city on women aged 18 to 40 with a sexual performance score of less than 28. The participants were assigned to two groups of face-to-face counseling and telephone counseling with a ratio of 1:1 using a computerized random number table with blocks of four and six. Counseling based on explicit approach was done in the face-to-face counseling group during three meetings of 60-90 minutes, and for the telephone counseling group, there were three individual telephone counseling sessions of 60-90 minutes. Pre-test questionnaires including sexual performance, quality of sexual life and marital satisfaction were completed before and eight weeks after the end of the intervention. Results. The mean (standard deviation) score of the quality of sexual life after the intervention was significantly increased in both face-to-face and telephone counseling groups compared to before the intervention. Also the mean (standard deviation) of the total score of sexual performance and marital satisfaction after the intervention in the face-to-face counseling group was significantly higher than that of the telephone counseling group. Conclusion. Using counseling based on ex-PLISSIT approach in both face-to-face and telephone counseling groups, are effective in sexual health. Therefore, during crises such as a pandemic, or other restrictions to hold face-to-face counseling sessions, telephone consultations are useful. Practical Implications. Counseling based on ex-PLISSIT approach is effective for sexual health.