The Beneficial Role of Spiritual Counseling in Heart Failure Patients.

To ascertain the beneficial role of spiritual counseling in patients with chronic heart failure. This is a pilot study evaluating the effects of adjunct spiritual counseling on quality of life (QoL) outcomes in patients with heart failure. Patients were assigned to 'religious' or 'non-religious' counseling services based strictly on their personal preferences and subsequently administered standardized QoL questionnaires. A member of the chaplaincy or in-house volunteer organization visited the patient either daily or once every 2 days throughout the duration of their hospitalization. All patients completed questionnaires at baseline, at 2 weeks, and at 3 months. Each of the questionnaires was totaled, with higher scores representing positive response, except for one survey measure where lower scores represent improvement (QIDS-SR16). Twenty-three patients ( n = 23, age 57 ± 11, 11 (48 %) male, 12 (52 %) female, mean duration of hospital stay 20 ± 15 days) completed the study. Total mean scores were assessed on admission, at 2 weeks and at 3 months. For all patients in the study, the mean QIDS-SR16 scores were 8.5 ( n = 23, SD = 3.3) versus 6.3 ( n = 18, SD = 3.5) versus 7.3 ( n = 7, SD = 2.6). Mean FACIT-Sp-Ex (version 4) scores were 71.1 ( n = 23, SD = 15.1) versus 74.7 ( n = 18, SD = 20.9) versus 81.4 ( n = 7, SD = 8.8). The mean MSAS scores were 2.0 ( n = 21, SD = 0.6) versus 1.8 ( n = 15, SD = 0.7) versus 2.5 ( n = 4, SD = 0.7). Mean QoL Enjoyment and Satisfaction scores were 47.2 % ( n = 23, SD = 15.0 %) versus 53.6 % ( n = 18, SD = 16.4 %) versus 72.42 % ( n = 7, SD = 22 %). The addition of spiritual counseling to standard medical management for patients with chronic heart failure patients appears to have a positive impact on QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]