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.