Comparison of the effects of Quran and instrumental music on the spiritual health of hemodialysis patients

Music therapy is a complementary treatment used for many diseases. Since hemodialysis causes existential, emotional, psychological, and spiritual problems in patients, the present study aimed to compare the effects of listening to Quran and instrumental music on the spiritual health of hemodialysis patients.
This present quasi–experimental study with a two-group design recruited 40 hemodialysis patients visiting the hemodialysis ward of Imam Hassan Mojtaba Hospital, Darab, Iran, in 2015. Patients were selected through convenience sampling and randomly allocated to two groups: Quran and music. Patients in the two intervention groups listened to Quran or music via speakers for one month. The two groups completed the Paloutzian and Ellison’s Spiritual Well-being Scale before and immediately after the intervention, and the data were analyzed in SPSS 19 using paired- and independent sample t-tests.
The mean of spiritual health after intervention in the Quran and music groups was respectively 102±5.79 and 51.20±6.27, showing a significant difference (P=0.0001). The spiritual health of patients in the Quran group was improved from a moderate to a high level.
We recommend listening to the Holy Quran in order to enhance spiritual health and, thus, quality of life in hemodialysis patients