The effect of group religious intervention on spiritual health and symptom reduction in patients with depression

Background and aims: Depression is considered a disease which is associated with various complications including suicide and imposeshigh costs on the health systems. The present study aimed to determine the effectiveness of group religious intervention on spiritual wellbeingand symptom reduction in patients with depression.Methods: In this clinical trial, ۷۲ patients with depression were included using convenience sampling technique and then were randomlydivided into patients with depression who underwent pharmacotherapy alone (group I) and those who underwent pharmacotherapy andreligious intervention (group II). In addition, the religious group II participated in ۵ ۹۰-minute sessions within three weeks and received theroutine drug treatment. Then, a demographic questionnaire, Paloutzian and Ellison’s Spiritual Well-Being scale, and Hamilton Depressionscale were completed. Finally, the data were analyzed by the SPSS software, version ۱۸.Results: There was no significant difference between the demographic characteristics of the patients (P > ۰.۰۵). However, the mean scoresof religious and existential aspects of spiritual health, as well as the mean total score of spiritual health after the intervention weresignificantly higher in group II who received religious intervention compared to group I (P < ۰.۰۵). Conversely, the mean score of depressionsignificantly decreased in groups I and II after the study (P < ۰.۰۰۱). In other words, after intervention, the mean score of depression wassignificantly lower in group II who received religious intervention compared to the group I (P = ۰.۰۳۸).Conclusion: In general, religious intervention, reduced the symptoms of depression in patients in addition to increasing the level of thespiritual health of the patients.

کلیدواژه ها:

Religious intervention ، Depression ، Spiritual health