Dealing with Psychological Effects of Alcohol Use by Adolescents: A Case of Kihesa Ward in Iringa, Tanzania

This study sought to investigate ways used to deal with psychological effects of the use of alcohol by adolescents at Kihesa ward in Iringa municipality. Semi structured interview was used to collect data from 36 respondents. The study found out that counseling and psycho education were commonly used to deal with the effect of alcohol use by adolescents. Counseling and psycho education have an impact in assisting adolescents who engage in the use of alcohol in the study area. Medication and spiritual intervention are complementary ways used to deal with psychological effects of the use of alcohol by adolescents. Community took part in curbing the problem under investigation. Since no single treatment to addictions which stands out more effective than all others, so the use of a numbers of approaches is recommendable for effective efforts to help adolescents who are involved in alcoholism. Therefore, psychological, medical, spiritual and other approaches need to be combined.

Randomized Controlled Trial Study of the Impact of a Spiritual Intervention on Hope and Spiritual Well-Being of Persons with Cancer

Objective. To determine the impact of spiritual intervention on hope and spiritual well-being of persons with cancer Methods. Randomized controlled trial in which 74 patients with cancer referring to a chemotherapy ward of Shahid Rajaie Hospital in Yasuj city, Iran, were participated. The eligible patients were randomly assigned to either intervention or control group. Spiritual-based intervention was performed based on the protocol in four main fields namely; religious, existence, emotional and social over 5 sessions before chemotherapy.The participants in the control group had received usual cares .Data were collected using Snyder's Hope Scale and Ellison's Scale Spiritual Well-Being Scale on a week before and after intervention. Results. The total mean scores of the scales of hope and spiritual well-being in both groups did not present statistical differences in the pre-intervention assessment. In contrast, at the post assessment, significant differences (p<0.001) were found in the mean scores between the intervention and control groups on the hope scale (60.9 versus 39.8) and on the spiritual well-being scale (94.3 versus 71.6). Conclusion. Spiritual intervention could promote hope and spiritual well-being of persons with cancer.

The Effectiveness of Spiritual Intervention in Overcoming Anxiety and Depression Problems in Gynecological Cancer Patients

Anxiety and depression are psychological distress that often occurs in gynecological cancer patients. However, there are few studies related to interventions to overcome these problems. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a spiritual intervention on anxiety and depression in such cancer patients. The research design was quasi-experimental, employing pretest and posttest on the intervention and the control groups. The total number of respondents was 108 patients, consisting of 54 in each group. The instrument used in the study was the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The spiritual intervention consisted of four sessions, namely an introduction and relaxation session, a control session, an identity session, and a relationship and prayer therapy session, held over two weeks. The data analysis showed a change in the mean score of anxiety and depression in the intervention group after the spiritual intervention (p = 0.001). Also, there were differences in the mean scores of anxiety and depression between the intervention and control groups (p = 0.001). The result implies that spiritual intervention can be applied as part of holistic nursing care for cancer patients, especially gynecological ones.Abstrak Efektifitas Intervensi Spiritual dalam Mengatasi Masalah Kecemasan dan Depresi pada Pasien Kanker Ginekologi. Kecemasan dan depresi merupakan gangguan psikologis yang sering terjadi pada pasien kanker ginekologi. Namun, penelitian terkait intervensi dalam mengatasi masalah tersebut belum banyak dilakukan. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui pengaruh intervensi spiritual terhadap kecemasan dan depresi pada pasien kanker ginekologi. Desain penelitian ini adalah quasi eksperimen menggunakan kelompok intervensi dan kontrol dengan pre-test dan post-test. Jumlah responden sebanyak 108 pasien yang terdiri dari 54 orang di setiap kelompok. Instrumen yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Intervensi spiritual terdiri dari empat sesi: sesi pengenalan dan relaksasi, sesi kontrol, sesi identitas, dan sesi terapi hubungan dan doa, yang diberikan selama dua minggu. Analisis data menunjukkan adanya perubahan rerata skor kecemasan dan depresi pada kelompok intervensi setelah diberikan intervensi spiritual (p = 0,001). Selain itu, terdapat perbedaan rerata skor kecemasan dan depresi antara kelompok intervensi dan kontrol (p = 0,001). Penelitian ini mengimplikasikan bahwa intervensi spiritual dapat diterapkan sebagai bagian dari asuhan keperawatan holistik pada pasien kanker, terutama yang ginekologi. Kata Kunci: depresi, intervensi spiritual, kanker, kecemasan

Effectiveness of Spiritual Therapy on Depression, Anxiety, and Stress in Hemodialysis Patients

Background: The most important psychological problems of dialysis patients are anxiety, depression, and stress. These psychological problems cause different consequences for the patients. ‎Therefore, it seems necessary to use strategies to reduce the psychological problems in hemodialysis ‎patients. Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of spiritual therapy on depression, anxiety, and stress in hemodialysis patients referred to the dialysis ward of special diseases center of Birjand in 2019 - 2020. Methods: In this semi-experimental study, 70 patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) under hemodialysis referred to the dialysis ward of special diseases center of Birjand in 2019 - 2020 were selected by available sampling method and randomized into two experimental groups (35 patients) and control (35 patients). The patients in the experimental group received eight sessions of 60-minute (one session per week) of spiritual intervention therapy, and the control group received no spiritual intervention. Data collection tools were a form of demographic profile and Lovibond SH and Lovibond PF (1995) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26 statistical software, and Fisher’s exact test, chi-square test, independent t-test, repeated measures ANOVA, Bonferroni post hoc test at a significance level of P < 0.05. Results: In this study, 68 patients were ‎examined in two experimental (33 patients) and control (35 patients) groups.‎ The mean score of depression, anxiety, and stress before the intervention in patients in the ‎experimental and control groups was not significantly different ‎(‎P‎ =‎ 0.61‎)‎, but immediately and three ‎months after the intervention in patients in the experiment group was significantly lower than the ‎control group (P < 0.001).‎ Conclusions: Based on the results of the present study, it can be said that spiritual therapy is considered an effective solution for reducing depression, anxiety, and stress in hemodialysis patients.

Impact of an Existential-Spiritual Intervention Compared with a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy on Quality of Life and Meaning in Life among Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease that could aggressively affect patients’ quality of life in most instances. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of an existential-spiritual psychotherapy with a cognitive-behavioral therapy on quality of life and meaning in life in women with multiple sclerosis. Method: A convenience sample of 43 women with multiple sclerosis participated in this quasi-experimental study. They were randomly assigned into 3 groups: an existential-spiritual intervention, a cognitive-behavioral intervention, and the control group. Participants were assessed for outcome measures (quality of life and meaning in life) at 3 points in time: pretest, posttest, and 5-months follow-up. The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 (MSQOL-54) and the Meaning in Life Questionnaires (MLQ) were used as outcome measures. To compare outcomes among the study groups, repeated measures analysis of variance was performed. Results: The results showed that while no difference was observed for the control group, scores for meaning in life improved significantly for existential-spiritual intervention and cognitive-behavioral therapy (p = 0.027, p = 0.039). Also, both mental (p < 0.001, p = 0.014) and physical (p = 0.001, p = 0.013) health dimensions of quality of life increased significantly in the 2 intervention groups. However, the results indicated that women in the existential-spiritual intervention group showed greater improvement in some aspects of meaning in life (search for meaning) and quality of life (role physical and role emotional, pain and energy) compared to women in the cognitive-behavioral intervention group. However, the latter group showed better improvements on 2 subscales (physical function and health distress). Conclusion: Both existential-spiritual and cognitive-behavioral interventions can improve quality of life and meaning in life among women with multiple sclerosis. However, the findings suggest that although both interventions were effective, the existential-spiritual intervention resulted in more positive improvements in some aspects of meaning in life and quality of life.

The Meaning of Caring: A Buddhist Perspective

A review of the literature reveals that an inclusive examination of the Buddhist perspective is needed to explain the diversity in meaning and scope of caring in nursing practice. This article briefly explains various definitions of caring according to the six major conceptualizations of caring from the Buddhist perspective: caring as a human trait; caring as a moral imperative; caring as an affect; caring as an interpersonal interaction; caring as a therapeutic intervention; and caring as a spiritual intervention. Buddhists view caring as love, trust, commitment, and ensuring a good relationship between nurses, the patient, family, and community.

Sensing Mentality and the Cognitive-Spiritual Intervention

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cognitive-spiritual intervention in increase of the spiritual orientation of the participants. It is argued that sensing mentality is a personality disorder that can cause a person to lose the spiritual, empathetic, and reasoning ability. It is hypothesized that with the cognitive-spiritual intervention the spiritual orientation can be increased. This study employed an experiment with the pre-test and post-test control stages. The spirituality was measured through ‘anchor’ personality questionnaire. The participants joined the one-day workshop and worked through cognitive, affective and spiritual experiences concerning the life orientation. Out of 22 participants, 20 completed pre-test and post-test data. The results show that spirituality increased significantly among the participants. The average pre-test score was M=1.517, and the average post-test score was M=2.166. Therefore, the average difference is 0.649, with t-score = 4.25, p<0.01. Thus, cognitive-spiritual therapeutic intervention can be used to influence the life orientation of those who have a sensory mentality.The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.