The Effects of Spiritual-Religious Intervention on Anxiety Level of the Family Members of Patients in ICUWard

Background: Among the factors effective on the mental health of individuals, family is one of the most important. Hospitalization of a member of the family might cause anxiety and mental problems. Seeking spiritual support, belief in God, and praying are some of the methods that the family members may adopt to deal with the stressors. Objectives: The present study is an attempt to survey the effects of spiritual-religious intervention on anxiety level in the family members of patients in the ICU ward. Methods: The study was carried out as a semi-experimental study in which 34 family members of critically ill patients in ICU took part. The subjects were selected through convenient sampling and randomly grouped in intervention (n = 17) and control (n = 17) groups. The subjects in the intervention group received religious-spiritual intervention through a course with eight group meetings (45 - 60 minutes; three times a week). Anxiety of the participants was measured using Spielberger’s Test Anxiety Inventory before and after the intervention. The collected data was analyzed in SPSS (V.20). Results: There was a significant difference in anxiety scores of the intervention group before and after the intervention (P < 0.001). On the other hand, no significant difference was observed in the control group before and after the intervention (P = 0.053). Conclusions: The findings indicated effectiveness of the spiritual-religious intervention on attenuation of anxiety in the family members of patients in the ICU. Therefore, nurses in ICU can utilize such inexpensive methods to decrease anxiety in the family members of patients.