The Effect of Spiritual Care on the Body Image of Patients Undergoing Amputation due to Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND: Body image, as an important factor in quality of life (QOL) satisfaction, in amputee patients is strongly affected by amputation, which can put the patient at risk of psychological disorders such as depression. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of spiritual care on body image in patients with type 2 diabetes-related amputation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, an experimental pretest-posttest design with two groups was used. A total of 54 participants (Males = 41, Females = 13) aged between 40 and 72 who had diabetes-related amputation participated in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to the meditation and control group. For the experimental group, three sessions of meditation, and for control group, three sessions regarding prevention of diabetic foot ulcer were conducted. The participants in the experimental group were asked to perform meditation exercises for a month. The data was collected via Amputee Body Image Scale before and 4 weeks after the intervention. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between groups on demographic variables. After intervention, the meditation group showed lower levels of body image disturbance compared with the control group, which was significant (t=3.41, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that meditation can improve body image in patients with diabetes-related amputation. In addition, because of no side effects and high acceptance of spiritual care, this method can be used as a way to improve the condition of patients.