The Effect Of Spiritual Self-Care Training On The Anxiety Of Infants Hospitalized In The Respiratory NICU

Background: The birth of premature infants is considered a crisis for their mothers, and causes a high level of anxiety and worry in them. Since spirituality plays an important role in adapting to crises and stressful situations, spiritual self-care is considered a part of self-care model. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of spiritual self-care training on the anxiety of infants admitted to respiratory NICU. Method: This experimental study with pre-test/post-test design was conducted on ۶۴ mothers of hospitalized infants who had been divided in two intervention and intervention groups by simple random allocation method. The Spielberger state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI) was used to collect data, which later were analyzed by descriptive (table, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (paired t-test, independent t-test, covariance test) at a significant level of ۰.۰۵. Results: The results of covariance test showed a significant difference between the intervention and control groups by removing the effect of pre-test (P < ۰.۰۱ and Eta = ۰.۴۳), so that ۴۳% of changes in the intervention group could be explained by the spiritual self-care training. Conclusion: Spiritual self-care training reduced anxiety in mothers of hospitalized infants. Therefore, this care method can be used to discover people's capabilities in critical life situations. It can also be used as an effective and low-cost intervention in nursing care