The relationship between anxiety, stress, spiritual health, and mindfulness among patients undergoing hemodialysis: A survey during the COVID-19 outbreak in Southeast Iran.

Background And Aims: Hemodialysis patients are prone to high stress and anxiety related to the acute coronavirus epidemic. Mindfulness and spiritual health are among the factors associated with stressful and anxious situations. The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between mindfulness, spiritual health, and coronavirus stress/anxiety in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Methods: One hundred and forty-four patients underwent hemodialysis participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients completed the Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Form, Corona Disease Anxiety Scale (CDAS), stress subscale of DASS-21, The Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory- Short Form (FMI-SF), and Spiritual Health Scale.

Results: The results showed that 28.5% of the participants had moderate to severe anxiety. According to the psychological symptom subscale (CDAS), 54.2% of the participants had moderate to severe anxiety. According to the physical symptom subscale, 41.7% of the participants had moderate to severe anxiety. Sixteen percent of the patients believed that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and lockdown influenced their course of treatment. A significant association was found between coronavirus disease anxiety and mindfulness (r = -0.20,  < .05). No significant association was found between stress and mindfulness/spiritual health ( > .05).

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that coronavirus anxiety and stress are common in hemodialysis patients. Mindfulness may be effective in reducing coronavirus anxiety in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, interventions are suggested to increase the level of mindfulness and empower hemodialysis patients to cope with anxiety caused by crises such as the coronavirus outbreak.