Spiritual care is associated with improved quality of life in patients who underwent intracranial hemorrhage surgery

1. This randomized controlled trial showed that stroke patients who received spiritual care sessions following intracranial hemorrhage surgery had improvements in quality of life scores compared to the control group.

2. Furthermore, patients who received the spiritual care sessions had a significant improvement in quality of life scores following the intervention compared to before.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Stroke patients experience several unpleasant symptoms that can impair their functioning and quality of life. Supporting the psychological well-being of stroke patients is being recognized as increasingly important. Spiritual health is an important aspect of overall health that can contribute to a patient’s well-being, and spiritual care can have many benefits for patients. However, its role in stroke patients is poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the role that spiritual care has on the quality of life of stroke patients following intracranial hemorrhage surgery.

This single-blind, randomized controlled trial included 100 stroke patients aged 18 to 60. Patients were included if they had undergone craniotomy at least three months before the study, had no severe visual or hearing impairments, no mental disorders, and could care for themselves. Patients were excluded if they had an occurrence of health disorders of any kind during the study. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. Those in the intervention group received four one-hour spiritual care sessions. Participants completed the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale (SS-QoL) before the study and one month following the intervention. The primary outcome was the SS-QoL score as a measure of quality of life.

The results demonstrated that stroke patients who received spiritual care sessions had significant improvements in SS-QoL scores compared to the control group. Patients in the intervention group had a significant improvement in quality of life scores following the intervention compared to before, while those in the control group did not. However, the study was limited by the variation in the spiritual and religious beliefs of the patients, which may have influenced the effectiveness of the intervention. Nonetheless, the present study suggested that spiritual care may help improve the quality of life of stroke patients following intracranial hemorrhage surgery.

Click to read the study in International Journal of Surgery

Image: PD

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