Impact of Spiritual Care Based on the “Sound Heart” Model on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress of Major Thalassemia Adolescents

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 “Sound Heart” model.

In this clinical trial, 64 adolescents suffered from major thalassemia selected through 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 “Sound Heart” model. The control group received routine care. Then, the questionnaires were filled out, and the data obtained were analyzed by SPSS (version 21).

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 prior to 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).

The findings showed that spiritual care based on “Sound Heart” model impacted depression, anxiety and stress of the studied adolescents. Therefore, it is recommended to consider spiritual based on “Sound Heart” model in the mental health promotion programs for adolescents suffering from thalassemia and other chronic illnesses.