Effect of Spiritual-Religious Practice on Health and Life Satisfaction of War Survivors Hospitalized due to COVID-19

Aims This study aimed to determine the effect of spiritual-religious practice on health and life satisfaction of war survivors hospitalized due to COVID-19. Materials & Methods In this trial 150 hospitalized war survivors with COVID-19, were randomly assigned into two groups. Spiritual-religious practice (reciting “Surah AlHamd” and “Ya-Allah”) was taught to the intervention group. The practice was done 21 times. Demographic characteristics, the score of the 12-Item Short Form Survey and of Life Satisfaction with Life Scale were gathered. Findings Of 183 war survivors, 153 were reluctant to participate in the study. The differences between before and after the intervention were significant in intervention group in the following dimensions: physical functioning (p<0.0001); role physical (p<0.0001); mental health (p<0.0001); social functioning (p<0.0001); bodily pain (p<0.0001); general health (p<0.0001); mental component summary (p<0.0001) and physical component summary (p<0.0001). The differences of physical function (p<0.0001); role physical (p<0.0001); social functioning (p<0.0001); bodily pain (p<0.000); general health (p<0.0001); mental component summary (p=0.04) and physical component summary (p<0.0001) were significant in control group, as well. At the end of the study, the mean life satisfaction scores in the intervention and control groups were 0.61 and -0.28. Conclusion The study showed that spiritual-religious practice along with routine medical care improved role physical, Physical Component Summary, and life satisfaction among war survivors hospitalized due to COVID-19.