Implementation of Spiritual Mindfulness to Improve Respiratory Status and Reduce Anxiety in Pneumonia Patients

Abstract

Pneumonia is a lower respiratory tract infection that can cause shortness of breath and impact the patient's psychological condition, including anxiety. Unmanaged anxiety can worsen respiratory status and increase the risk of complications. One independent nursing intervention that can be provided to reduce anxiety is mindfulness spiritual therapy. This study aims to apply mindfulness spiritual therapy to pneumonia patients experiencing anxiety and evaluate changes in anxiety levels and respiratory status. This study employed a descriptive case study approach. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling with two respondents who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria included adult patients with a medical diagnosis of pneumonia who were undergoing outpatient care and had a moderate level of anxiety. In contrast, exclusion criteria included patients with severe, uncontrolled anxiety and impaired concentration. The research process covered all stages of nursing care, namely, data collection through interviews, observations, and physical examinations. The instruments used were the nursing care assessment format and the Standard Operating Procedures for mindfulness spiritual therapy. Data were analyzed descriptively and presented narratively. The results of the case study showed that respondents A and B complained of anxiety about their health conditions and felt tired quickly and short of breath, especially when doing activities such as walking and talking too much. Both respondents had anxiety nursing problems, but patient B also experienced ineffective health care nursing problems. Nursing interventions carried out to address anxiety by applying spiritual mindfulness combined with anxiety reduction were carried out in 3 main sessions. Both respondents showed improvements in anxiety levels, followed by improvements in respiratory status. However, more optimal changes were found in respondent A due to more consistent therapy implementation than in respondent B. Spiritual mindfulness therapy has the potential to help reduce anxiety levels and improve respiratory status in pneumonia patients, especially if patients are willing to consistently implement this therapy due to a strong desire to improve their nursing problems.