title: Effect of Islam-based religious program on spiritual wellbeing in elderly with hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lack of spiritual health in patients with hypertension leads to many mental, social, and physical effects, On the other hand, considering the prevalence of hypertension among the elderly, interventions to enhance their spiritual wellbeing is essential. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of religious programs based on Islam on spiritual wellbeing in elderly patients with hypertension who referred to the health centers of Isfahan in 2014.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a randomized clinical trial. The participants (52 elderly patients with hypertension) were randomly divided in to experimental and control groups. Religious program was implemented for the experimental group in eight sessions in two Isfahan health centers. Spirituality wellbeing survey (SWB) questionnaire was completed in three steps, namely, pretest, posttest and follow-up (1 month) in two groups. In the study, Chi-square test, independentt-test, and repeated-measures analysis of variance were performed for analyzing the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before the intervention, there was no significant difference between the mean scores of spiritual wellbeing, the religious dimension, and the existential aspect of spiritual wellbeing of the two groups. However in the posttest step and follow-up stage, the mean scores of spiritual wellbeing, the religious dimension, and the existential aspect of spiritual wellbeing in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control group (P< 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The religious program based on Islam promoted the SWB of elderly patients with hypertension; further, nurses can use these programs to promote the SWB of elderly patients with hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Ulcer Repair Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moeini
authors.affiliation: Student Research Center, Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Somaye
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharifi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Isfahan University, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohamed Bagher
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Kajbaf
keywords: Aging; Iran; hypertension; religion; spiritual wellbeing