Mitra Edraki - Community Based Psychiatric Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Zaynab Noeezad - MSc student of Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing, Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Reza Bahrami - Neonatology Research Center, Pediatric Department, Faculty of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
Saeedeh Pour Ahmad - Biostatistics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Introduction: When an infant is born prematurely and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the mother usually experiences high levels of anxiety that can disrupt the maternal bond, as well as the natural course of infant development. Since spirituality is one of the significant factors affecting anxiety, the present study was designed with the aim to evaluate the effect of spiritual care based on the Ghalbe Salim model on anxiety of mothers with premature infants. Materials &Methods: In this clinical trial, a total of 60 mothers with premature infants who were admitted to the NICUs of Hafez and Hazrat-e-Zainab hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Science were recruited in the study through convenience sampling between January-November 2017. The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, one of the hospitals was randomly designated as the control group and the other one as the experimental group. In the second stage, the interventions commenced again after switching the sampling setting. Mothers in the experimental group received four 30-minute sessions of spiritual care based on the Ghalbe Salim model every other day, and their anxiety level was assessed before and after intervention using Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y). Data were analyzed, using Chi-squared test, independent t-test, paired t-test, and Mann-Whitney test. Results: There were no significant differences between the experimental and control groups before intervention in terms of mean state and trait anxiety scores (P> 0.05). However, after intervention, a significant difference was observed between groups in respect to both state and trait anxiety scores (P=0.001). Conclusion: According to our findings, spiritual care based on the Ghalbe Salim model was effective in reducing anxiety level of mothers with premature infants

Spiritual Therapies, Anxiety, Premature Infant, Neonatal Intensive Care Units