The Effect Of Poetry Therapy On Hopelessness, Loneliness And Depression in Hemodialysis Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of poetry therapy on hopelessness, loneliness and depression in haemodialysis patients. The study, which was conducted in a quasi-experimental design, included 22 chronic renal failure patients receiving haemodialysis treatment. 11 patients were assigned to the poetry group and 11 patients to the control group. The patients in the poetry group received 12 sessions of poetry therapy three days a week for 4 weeks, while the patients in the control group were not intervened. The data of the study were collected with ‘Personal Information Form’, ‘Beck Hopelessness Scale’, ‘UCLA Loneliness Scale’ and ‘Beck Depression Scale’. Mean, standard deviation and percentage calculations, Kolmogorov Smirnov normal distribution test, chi-square and t test were used in the analysis of the data. It was determined that the sociodemographic and disease characteristics of the patients in the poetry and control groups were similar (p>0.05). In the pre-test, it was found that there was a similarity between the poetry and control groups in terms of mean hopelessness and loneliness scores (p>0.05), while there was a statistically significant difference in terms of mean depression score and frequency (p=0.016, p=0.012). After the poetry therapy, it was determined that the mean scores of hopelessness and depression of the poetry group decreased statistically significantly (p=0.009, p=0.016), while the mean score of loneliness increased significantly (p<0.001). In conclusion, it was determined that poetry therapy decreased hopelessness and depression but increased loneliness in haemodialysis patients. Accordingly, it can be said that poetry therapy is beneficial in reducing hopelessness and depression levels.