The Effect of Spiritual Self-Care Group Therapy on Life Expectancy in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease: An Educational Trial

Spiritual self-care is defined as a set of exercises based on spirituality to promote healing in times of sickness and health. Patient's perception of the role of spiritual self-care can lead to chronic disease management. Life expectancy is an important criterion to reflect the mortality impact on longevity and disease in a population. Studies have shown that patients’ need to spirituality is important in the presence of life-threatening diseases; accordingly, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of spiritual self-care group therapy on life expectancy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).
This study is an educational trial which was conducted on 111 patients with CAD, discharged from the intensive care unit of Ali-Ibn-Abitalib hospital in Rafsanjan in 2015. Samples were randomly allocated to two groups including an intervention and a control group. Spirituality workshop sessions (three sessions of one and a half hours one day per week) were administered for intervention group. Miller’s life expectancy questionnaire was completed by both groups before and after study. Data were analyzed using independent t test, paired t test, and chi-square test.
The results showed that the mean life expectancy a week after the intervention was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (176.76 .38 vs. 159.50.87, p=0.035). Moreover, mean score of life expectancy (after intervention) had significantly increased in the intervention group compared to before intervention (the mean and standard deviationof changes were 13.35±14.07, p Given the positive effect of spiritual self-care on patients life expectancy in the present study, nurses are recommended to pay attention to spiritual dimensions of patients and include it in their routine care.