Effect of Spiritual Intelligence Training on the Hope and Self-transcendence in Mothers of Premature Neonates

Spiritual intelligence training significantly increased hope and self-transcendence among mothers of premature neonates hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit in Iran. In a randomized clinical trial, 80 mothers were assigned to either an intervention group that received eight weekly 90-minute hybrid virtual and face-to-face training sessions or a control group that received no education. After training, the intervention group showed mean self-transcendence scores of 51.42 and hope scores of 160.10, both significantly higher than before training. The findings suggest that such training can help mothers provide better care and fulfill their parental role.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background: Spiritual intelligence training, as one dimension of comprehensive care and a means of communicating with a higher power (God), can increase mothers' hope and self-transcendence. Aim: This study aimed to determine the impact of spiritual intelligence training on hope and selftranscendence in the mothers of premature neonates hospitalized in the ICU of Fatemieh Hospital, Hamadan. Method: This randomized clinical trial study included 80 mothers with premature neonates hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit in Iran in 2019. The permutated block method was used to randomly divide the eligible participants into intervention and control groups. Weekly training sessions were held in a hybrid of virtual and face-to-face formats for eight 90-minute sessions for the intervention group, while the control group did not receive any education. The maternal demographic and neonatal clinical characteristics form, the Hope Scale of Mothers with Premature Neonates, and the Self-Transcendence Scale were used for data gathering. Results: The mean ages of the participants in the intervention and control groups were 30.18±3.76 and 29.38±1.52 years, respectively, and about 45.2% of the neonates were firstborn. The results of repeated-measures ANOVA showed that after spiritual intelligence training, the mean scores of selftranscendence (51.42±1.81) and hope (160.10±7.75) significantly increased in the intervention group (P<0.001). Implications for Practice: It is possible to ensure that mothers provide quality and comprehensive care, allowing them to better perform the parent role, using mechanisms that can increase their hope and self-transcendence.