The effect of spiritual care on pain in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting

Aim. This research aims to investigate the effects of spiritual care on pain in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery.
Background. Pain as a significant problem in patients undergoing CABG requires nursing care. Because of side effects from opioids, it is important to use non-pharmacological approaches such as spiritual care to control pain in these patients.
Method. This clinical trial was performed on 70 patients after CABG. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, and McGill Pain questionnaire. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups of experimental and control. Spiritual care program in the experimental group included supportive presence, supporting patient’s rituals, and using supportive systems for 3 days. Pain levels were measured before and after intervention for both groups. The control group did not receive any intervention. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 20.
Findings. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of in demographic characteristics. Before intervention, no statistically significant difference was found between the pain scores of the groups, however, after the intervention, pain scores were significantly lower in the experimental group than in the control group. There was also a statistically significant difference between the pain scores of the experiment group before and after the intervention. Such a difference was not found in the control group.
Conclusion. Spiritual care program reduced pain in patients undergoing CABG. With regard to the results of the present study, it is suggested that nurses include religious-spiritual care in nursing care plan as a helpful way to control pain in these patients.