The Effect of Movie-Watching on Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Hospitalized Patients with COVID-19: A Randomized Controlled Study

INTRODUCTION: This study was carried out to determine the effect of watching a comedy movie on depression, anxiety, and stress levels in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.
METHODS: This was a randomized controlled study. The population of the study consisted of patients in the pandemic ward of a university hospital in a province located in the eastern region of Turkey. Power analysis was performed to determine the sample size. The study was completed with 53 in the experimental group and 53 in the control group. Patient information form and Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) were used for data collection.
RESULTS: Patients in the experimental and control groups were homogeneous in terms of descriptive characteristics. When DASS depression, anxiety, and stress scores were analyzed according to the descriptive characteristics of the patients in the experimental group, it was determined that patients with seven or more children and chronic diseases had higher anxiety and stress scores (p<0.05). A statistically significant difference was found between the mean depression, anxiety, and stress scores of the experimental and control groups, and it was determined that the depression, anxiety and stress scores of the experimental group were lower compared to those of the control group.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In this study, it was found that watching comedy movies, which can be considered as a complementary practice for hospitalized patients with Covid-19, significantly decreased the depression, anxiety, and stress levels of the patients. It was determined that patients with seven or more children and chronic diseases had higher anxiety and stress scores.