Abstract :
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an essential complication of war, making people who have experienced a war susceptible to secondary diseases. Since spirituality as an influential factor can help control stressful situations, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of spiritual care based on righteous heart on veterans' post-traumatic stress. This experimental study was conducted in 2019 on 60 veterans referred to Mashhad Army Hospital. Sampling was done randomly in two intervention and control groups. The intervention group received righteous heart-based spiritual care training in five 45-60 minutes long sessions over 5 weeks. Data collection tools included demographic questionnaire and post-traumatic stress scale. The collected data were entered in SPSS-20 software for analysis using independent t-test, paired t-test and ANCOVA test at the significance level of p<0.05. The mean score of post-traumatic stress before the intervention in the intervention and control groups was (52.30 ± 6.01) and (52.63 ± 4.75), respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in that regard (p = 0.813). However, after the intervention, the mean score of post-traumatic stress in the intervention and control groups was (42.27 ± 3.61) and (51.20 ± 6.18) respectively, and there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in that regard (p <0.0001). Considering the results of this study, it is suggested to provide the necessary condition for veterans to participate in spiritual activities, which can improve their psychological status.
