Studying the Effectiveness of Integrating Spiritual and Cognitive Counseling on Resiliency and Self-Efficacy of Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract Introduction: Kidney is one of the most distinguished organs of the body. Impairment in kidney function can cause serious harm to the person's physical and mental health. In the event of kidney failure, dialysis will perform kidney’s function, and the person will need dialysis for the rest of his or her life. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of integrating spiritual and cognitive counseling on the level of resiliency and self-efficacy of hemodialysis patients in city of Khorramabad. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was carried out using pretest and post-test methods. The statistical population of the study included all patients who were using hemodialysis in Khorramabad’s Shahid Rahimi Hospital during the spring of 2019. The method of sampling for this study included random selection of 30 patients based on set inclusion and exclusion criteria. They were then randomly assigned into experimental and control groups (15 individuals each). Then, under identical and simultaneous conditions, the pretest was performed with Resiliency and Self-Efficacy questionnaire for participants of both groups. The group intervention protocol was then performed on the experimental group, which included a combined version of spiritual and cognitive counseling for eight 90-minute sessions. Meanwhile, the control group did not receive this or any specific interventions. Following the conclusion of these sessions, a retest was performed (post-test) on the members of both groups. Results: The results of multivariate and single-variable covariance analysis showed that the intervention of the combined model of spiritual and cognitive counseling had a significant effect on increasing the resiliency and self-efficacy of the participating hemodialysis patients (P<0.001). Conclusion: According to the results of this study, the combination of spiritual and cognitive counseling appears to be able to effectively increase the resiliency and self-efficacy of hemodialysis patients. Therefore, this method can be used by counselors and other mental health personnel to increase the resiliency and self-efficacy of hemodialysis patients. Keywords: Integration of spiritual and cognitive counseling, Resiliency, self-efficacy, hemodialysis