Abstract
Aims: Thalassemia as a genetic disorder affects adolescents’ mental health. The impact of spiritual care on the clients’ health has been proved in different studies. The goal of the present investigation was to study the effect of spiritual care on depression, anxiety, and stress of adolescents with Thalassemia based on the “Sound Heart” model.
Materials & Methods: In this clinical trial, 64 adolescents suffered from major thalassemia selected through the permuted block technique. They were divided into control (32 samples) and intervention (32 samples) groups. Then, they completed demographic and 21-DASS questionnaires. The intervention group participated in 4 educational sessions individually every two weeks. Every session lasted 30 to 5 minutes and was based on the “Sound Heart” model. The control group received routine care. Then, the questionnaires were filled out, and the data obtained were analyzed using SPSS 21 software.
Findings: There was no significant difference between the control (34.59±10.68) and intervention groups (35.68±10.50) in the mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress before the intervention (p=0.68). However, the mean scores of depression, anxiety, and stress were significantly different after the intervention between the control (33.21±9.8) and intervention (28.02±7.66) groups after performing spiritual care (p=0.02).
Conclusion: Providing spiritual care based on the “Sound Heart” model decreases the depression, anxiety, and stress of adolescents with major thalassemia who are under recurrent blood transfusion.