The effect of spiritual care on spiritual well-being and quality of life in diabetic patients: a clinical trial

Background
Diabetes negatively affects patients’ quality of life and increases the use of spirituality as a coping mechanism. Spiritual well-being is regarded as one of the basic concepts for coping with problems caused by this disease.

Objectives
This study was conducted to determine the effect of spiritual care on spiritual well-being and quality of life in patients with type-2 diabetes.

Material and methods
This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 90 eligible patients with type-2 diabetes visiting a diabetes clinic in Shiraz in southern Iran. Patients were selected by systematic random sampling and divided into the intervention and control groups by block randomization. The intervention group received six sessions of spiritual interventions, and the control group received routine care. Data was collected using the spiritual well-being (SWB) and diabetes quality of life (DQoL) questionnaires, which were completed before and one month after the intervention. The data was analyzed in SPSS-22, using descriptive and inferential statistics, and p < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results
In the intervention group, the mean score of the DQoL (54.04 ± 2.3 vs 39.38 ± 4.8; p < 0.001) and SWB (107 ± 10.3 vs 91.7 ± 9.2; p < 0.001) was significantly higher than the control group after the intervention. In dimensions of DQoL and SWB, significant differences were also seen between the two groups (p < 0.001).

Conclusions
The development and implementation of holistic care programs in conjunction with spiritual care programs can be beneficial for diabetic patients and help improve their spiritual well-being and quality of life.