Effects of nursing care based on watson' theory of human caring on the mental health of women in pregnancy subsequent to pregnancy loss

Objective: Evaluate the nursing care program based on Watson' Theory of Human Caring on the the anxiety, depression, hopelessness and prenatal attachment levels of pregnant women subsequent to pregnancy loss. Method: This research employed experimental, randomized, controlled study using pretest-post test design. This research is conducted at two university hospitals. Nursing care based on Watson's Theory of Human Caring was applied to the intervention group. The number of women was 128 in total, 68 in the intervention group, 60 in the control group. Data were collected through personal information form, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Hopelessness Scale and Prenatal Attachment Inventory. Data were evaluated with chi-square, t test, mannwhitney-u, kruskal wallis and intention to treat analysis. Findings: After intervention statistically significant differences was found between the intervention and control group according to their Beck Anxiety, Beck Depression, Beck Hopelessness and Prenatal Attachment scores (p=0.000). Conclusion: It was determined that nursing care based on Watson's theory of human caring decreases the anxiety, depression and hopelessness level and increases the prenatal attachment level of women in pregnancy subsequent to pregnancy loss. Key words: Pregnancy Loss, Depression, Anxiety, Prenatal Attachment, Watson's Theory of Human Caring.