Correlation between Spiritual Health and Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Patients Undergoing General Surgeries

Abstract

Aims: Due to the threat that surgery creates for the whole body, anxiety or stress is one of the most common problems before surgery. Studies have reported conflicting results regarding the relationship between spiritual health and stress and anxiety in these patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the correlation between spiritual health and stress, anxiety and depression in patients hospitalized in general surgery ward. Instruments & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was performed on 300 patients admitted to the general surgery ward of Namazi Hospital in Shiraz, Iran. Participants were selected by simple random method in 2017. A three-part questionnaire was used to collect data; the first part included the patient's demographic information, the second part included the DASS21 standard questionnaire, and the third part included the Ellison-Paloutzian standard spiritual health questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS 22 software and descriptive statistics and inferential analysis tests (Spearman's correlation coefficient). Findings: The majority of patients (77.7%) had moderate spiritual health. There was a significant and negative correlation between depression (r=-0.500), anxiety (r=-0.504) and stress (r=-0.391) with spiritual health (p<0.001). Conclusion: Whatever the spiritual health of patients in the Surgery Unit is more they experience less depression, anxiety and stress.