'Spirituality' in Health Studies: Competing Spiritualities and the Elevated Status of Mindfulness

Developing a Jordanian Measure of Reverence in Muslim Praying ('Khushoo'): Content Validity, Factor Structure and Reliability

Many Muslims complain of straying while praying because of life's problems and psychological pressures (i.e., reflecting on topics other than prayer). To assess this problem, it was necessary to develop a measure of reverence in Muslim praying (MRMP). The study aimed to collect items from the theoretical literature and investigate these to determine the validity of the content by consultation with a group of experts (n = 17), after which the number of items was reduced to 39. The study focused on two random and completely different samples. The first sample (n = 396) was used to verify the validity of exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The results showed that the following four factors explain 67.27% of the variance in the total scale: groveling, focused attention, contemplation, and praying behavior control. The second sample (n = 362) was used to verify the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) as well as the convergent validity and reliability of the data. Additionally, the four factors were confirmed using bifactor confirmatory factor analysis (B-CFA) and met the criteria for fitness. Likewise, all correlation values between the MRMP and mental health, mindfulness, happiness, and well-being were significant. In addition, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the four factors ranged between 0.85 and 0.77 and the total score was 0.92. Finally, the correlations between the MRMP and the four factors were significant. The study concluded that the MRMP is appropriate for assessing reverence in Muslim praying, can be used to promote psychological health in the context of prayers, and can serve as a foundation for future research.

The Role of Religiosity and Spirituality in Helping Polish Subjects Adapt to Their Tinnitus

This study aims to assess whether religiosity and spirituality might be significant internal resources that help people with tinnitus to adapt to their condition. The study group comprised 256 Polish patients with tinnitus (123 women and 133 men) who answered the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory and Tinnitus Functional Index (both of which measure tinnitus annoyance) and the Self-Description Questionnaire (which measures: religious attitudes, ethical sensitivity, and harmony). Significant positive correlations between religious attitudes and tinnitus annoyance were found in subjects with tinnitus. The higher the religiosity, the higher tinnitus the annoyance, at least in the two TFI questionnaire dimensions: sense of control and quality of life (although these correlations were statistically significant only for men). Religiosity was found to be a positive predictor of tinnitus annoyance. Also, ethical sensitivity positively predicted tinnitus annoyance, whereas harmony was a negative predictor. We suggest that psychologists and audiologists should, in their diagnostic and therapeutic work with patients with tinnitus, pay attention to the religious and spiritual aspects of their patients' lives.

Nursing students' spiritual caregiving status: Comparison of Western and Central Anatolia regions of Turkey

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine the status of spiritual caregiving education in nursing students belonging to two different state universities in Turkey.

DESIGN AND METHODS

The descriptive, cross-sectional study was completed with 326 students.

FINDINGS

Turkey's western regions in mean scale scores of students (147.27 ± 19.40) in central Anatolia (140.83 ± 18.82) was higher than the students and the difference was statistically significant. A statistically significant difference was found between the total score averages of the Spiritual Caregiving Scale and their year of study, self-perception of spirituality, and relating their profession to spirituality (p < 0.05).

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

It is recommended to include spiritual care issues and principles in the nursing education curriculum.

Relationship between spirituality and depression among patients with malignant cancer at a selected tertiary care Institute - A study from North India

Purpose: Depression is a major mental disorder and has drastic effects on people suffering from other terminal illnesses like cancer. Many patients struggling with chronic or fatal illnesses rely on spirituality to cope. Spirituality in Indian culture has always been a vital component in indigenous health systems.Objective: To determine the relationship between spirituality and depression among patients with cancer visiting a tertiary care institute of Uttarakhand State in northern India. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional survey.Sample: A total of 103 cancer patients visiting inpatient and outpatient departments of a selected tertiary care institute of Uttarakhand state of northern India. Methods: Participants were administered the socio-demographic proforma, Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) (Kroenke, Spitzer, and Williams, 2001), System of Belief Inventory (SBI-15R). Findings: The mean score of depression among cancer patients was 9.12±6.537 (CI, 7.84-10.39). Patients with high spirituality have minimal or no depression. We found a statistically significant negative correlation between depression and spirituality (r=-0.209, p=0.05).Conclusions: Health care professionals can incorporate spirituality in caring for cancer patients to develop a positive outlook on living despite the illness. Implications for Psychosocial Providers Or Policy: Establishing a spiritual support program as an integral part of a multidisciplinary approach can better cancer treatment in the Indian setting.

Consulting with a folk deity before making decisions: spiritual practices in parents facing end-of-life decisions for their child on life support with brain stem dysfunction

Background

Adolescents with brain stem dysfunction may undergo many invasive treatments, and parents are often faced with making the decision to withdraw treatment. However, in the face of their child’s death, the spiritual practices of parents dealing with end-of-life decision-making remain under investigated.

Purpose

This study explores the spiritual practices in parents making end-of-life decisions for adolescents on life support with brain stem dysfunction.

Method

A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted through in-depth interviews with three parents of two adolescents in Taiwan. Data were analysed using Colaizzi’s seven-step protocol.

Results

Three main themes emerged: (1) faith during decision-making, (2) struggles during decision-making, (3) transformation during decision-making. The findings indicate that “transforming the nature of hope” is the essence of the experience.

Conclusion

Family-centred care, gaining insight into parental spiritual practices, and developing culturally-appropriate care are recommended.

A systemic approach to resilience and ecological sustainability during the COVID-19 pandemic: Human, societal, and ecological health as a system-wide emergent property in the Anthropocene

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a worldwide disruption. Most people have never witnessed such a global threat, and the world's leaders have not dealt with a crisis of this magnitude; moreover, Research & Innovation (R&I) teams have little time to invent new pharmaceutical therapies. Nations are trying to implement controlling strategies for avoiding significant losses, but this pandemic has already imprinted itself upon their citizens' psyche, created social anxiety, and disrupted national economies. The complexity of the psychological, social, and economic interrelations of this new source of stress cannot be appropriately understood by scientific reductionism and specialised thinking only. It needs to be considered how the current pandemic links to questions of ecological sustainability and resilience. Further, we must rethink the complex interactions of human-nature health that drove the crisis, as proof of an unsustainable human civilisation. Accordingly, this paper aims to contribute to the transdisciplinary resilience dialogue on the health maintenance and life-supporting processes of the biosphere by focusing on the COVID-19 crisis. It explores various frameworks that are contributing to the transdisciplinary meta-perspective of resilience. Moreover, it proposes a humanistic approach based on not only controlling strategies involving containment and social isolation but also the ecological balance considering the human, societal, and ecological health as a system-wide emergent property. Conceptual frameworks of resilience are discussed-as mapping methodologies to structure the discourse-focusing on the role of leadership and empowerment. Furthermore, some positive insights are discussed, as a transdisciplinary integrator and solidarity facilitator of coping, mitigation, and decision-making in the time of uncertainty and anxiety created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What's the Point of Clinical Pastoral Education and Pastoral Counselling Education? Political, Developmental, and Professional Considerations

Further clarity is needed regarding the uniqueness of spiritual care and psycho-spiritual therapy. In this article, this uniqueness is described as the relative spiritual health of spiritual health professionals. Drawing upon political philosophy, spiritual development theories, and studies in spiritual health, three traits of spiritual health are revealed that spiritual health professionals need to function effectively in their work environments. The article ends with four recommendations for both clinical pastoral education and pastoral counselling education.