The Effect of Spiritual Care on Anxiety and Depression Level in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis Treatment: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of spiritual care on the anxiety and depression levels of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment. The research was carried out between January and May 2019 in a training and research hospital hemodialysis unit in the Eastern Anatolian Region of Turkey. The research was completed with a total of 71 patients (33 experiments, 38 controls) who received hemodialysis treatment. Regarding in-group comparison, the difference between the mean scores of pre-test and post-test of the patients concerning the anxiety and depression in the experimental group was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). It was determined that training for strengthening spirituality was effective in reducing the anxiety and depression levels of patients receiving hemodialysis treatment. It can be suggested that spiritual care should be used as a complementary method in health care practices to increase the effectiveness of the treatment.