Texas Wesleyan University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA.
J Relig Health. 2024 Dec;63(6):4672-4682. doi: 10.1007/s10943-024-02117-1. Epub 2024 Sep 5.
The purpose of this project was to implement intentional spiritual care in a community population with chronic illness in the United States to reduce risk of depression. A convenience sample (n = 10) of members of a congregation participated in scheduled spiritual care for 12 weeks. The PHQ-9 depression screening tool was given pre and postimplementation to evaluate efficacy of the spiritual care sessions on risk of depression. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected. All participants identified as having at least one chronic illness and considered themselves to be spiritual. Initial PHQ-9 scores indicated all participants had mild to moderately severe risk of depression. Postimplementation PHQ-9 scores indicated a decrease in score ranging from no risk to moderate risk of depression. Postimplementation PHQ-9 scores indicated a decrease in depression score of 2.8 points on average. The paired samples t-test result for the before versus after PHQ-9 were statistically significant with p < .01 and t(9) = 4.882. During this project, no participant experienced an increase or worsening of their illness. These results showed that identifying individual spiritual needs and incorporating intentional spiritual care can reduce the risk of depression and decrease exacerbation episodes in chronically ill patients.
本项目旨在为美国的慢性病社区人群实施有意的精神关怀，以降低抑郁风险。一个方便的样本（n=10）的会众成员参加了为期 12 周的定期精神关怀。在实施前后使用 PHQ-9 抑郁筛查工具评估精神关怀对抑郁风险的效果。收集了定量和定性数据。所有参与者都被认为患有至少一种慢性病，并认为自己有精神信仰。最初的 PHQ-9 评分表明所有参与者都有轻度至中度严重的抑郁风险。实施后的 PHQ-9 评分表明，得分从无风险到中度风险的抑郁风险有所下降。实施后的 PHQ-9 评分平均下降了 2.8 分。PHQ-9 前后的配对样本 t 检验结果具有统计学意义（p<0.01，t(9)=4.882）。在这个项目中，没有参与者的病情出现恶化或加重。这些结果表明，确定个人的精神需求并实施有意的精神关怀可以降低慢性疾病患者的抑郁风险，并减少恶化发作。
