Abstract:
The aim of fostering hope in attempted suicide patients is to promote positive power
and resilience in order to establish hope for future life continuity. The purpose of this quasi-experimental
study is to examine the effect of fostering hope through drawing therapy in attempted suicide
patients. Twenty participants from Wichainburi hospital who met the study inclusion criteria were
recruited and were randomly assigned equally into an experimental group and a control group.
The drawing therapy was developed based on Watsons Human Care Theory, Herth hope concept
and the process of conducting art therapy postulated by Siriratreka and Kraisri. The experimental
group received the program for 90-120 minutes per session, for a total of 5 sessions. While those
in the control group, received only routine nursing care. The Herth hope scale was employed to
evaluate hope at pre-posttest and one month follow-up period. Descriptive statistics, independent
t-test, two-way repeated measures ANOVA and multiple comparison tests using the Bonferroni
method were employed to analyze the data.
The results demonstrated that the mean scores of hope between the experimental group
and the control group at post-test and the 1 month follow-up were significantly different at .001.
In the experimental group, mean scores of hope at pre-test, post-test and the one-month follow-up
were significantly different at p value of .001. From the post-hoc comparison, there was a significant
difference between mean scores at post-test and the one-month follow-up period at p value of .01.
The results suggest that nurses and health care providers could apply this drawing
therapy for increasing hope in attempted suicide patients.