The Spiritism as therapy in the health care in the epilepsy

The Relationship Between Religious Coping, Spirituality, and Disease Self-Management Among Parkinson's Patients in Turkey

Religion and spirituality can be important motivational tools in the management of Parkinson's disease. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between religious coping methods, spirituality, and disease self-management levels in Parkinson's patients. This descriptive, cross-sectional, and correlational study was conducted with 294 Parkinson's patients. Descriptive statistics, independent samples t test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, and structural equation modeling were used in the analysis of the data. This study showed that Parkinson's patients adopted both positive and negative religious coping styles, demonstrated good levels of spirituality, and had high levels of disease self-management. A statistically significant relationship was found between the positive and negative religious coping levels of Parkinson's patients and their levels of spirituality and disease self-management (p < 0.05). Health professionals may consider and support Parkinson's patients' use of religion as a coping mechanism, as this may help manage Parkinson's disease.

Spiritual Dimension in Neurological and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Systematic Mapping Review

Previous studies have shown the benefits of spirituality/religiosity with regard to health and quality of life for people. The high prevalence of neurological disorders, which are the main diseases that cause disability and dependency around the world, makes neurological disorders especially relevant. This systematic mapping review aimed to map the knowledge of spirituality experienced by people with neurological/neurodegenerative disorders and its influence on outcomes and the ability to cope with the disease. Following specified methodological criteria, a total of 13 articles were selected. The spiritual dimension should be considered a fundamental component of the quality of life and well-being of neurological patients as it can significantly influence their ability to cope with their disease.

Religiosity and mental health as aspects of comprehensiveness in care

OBJECTIVE

to understand how religiosity can influence the health of individuals diagnosed with mental disorders, based on comprehensive care.

METHODS

this is an integrative literature review, with the inclusion of articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, between 2010 and 2018.

RESULTS

the critical analysis and qualitative synthesis of the 24 selected studies were categorized into two subtopics: The influence of religiosity in promoting comprehensive mental health care; Mental health versus religiosity: influencing conditions for effective access to comprehensive care.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

a positive influence of religiosity was identified in the lives of individuals diagnosed with mental disorders; however, evidence shows that health teams do not feel comfortable and prepared to work with religiosity as an expression of spirituality. This being one of the dimensional aspects of health, it can be inferred, on the results, the existence of this gap in the comprehensive care approach.

Beliefs of parents of children with mental disorders in a university hospital out-patient clinic in Colombia

OBJECTIVE

Describe the beliefs of parents about the mental disorders of their children who attended a paediatric outpatient clinic at a university hospital.

METHODS

This was a descriptive study with parents of children with mental disorders seen from January to May of 2018 at a high complexity hospital in Medellin, Colombia. Ninety-eight (98) parents of children and adolescents attending their first outpatient consultation with Paediatric Psychiatry were studied. An instrument designed by the investigators was applied to obtain demographic variables and beliefs about the origin of their child's mental disorder, treatment and adjuvants.

RESULTS

49.9% of the 98 parents believed that their child had a mental disorder. 43.9% believed the disorder was inherited and 41.8% believed its cause was organic. 95.9% of the parents believed the child needed treatment, including psychotherapy (90.4%) and medication (58.51%). Among the alternative treatments the parents believed the child needed, healing was the most commonly cited by 27.5% of the parents. Of the adjuvant methods, the most commonly cited were reinforcing positive behaviour (82.7%) and correcting with words and setting a good example (72.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly half of the parents believed their child had a mental disorder, the treatment that was most commonly considered was psychotherapy above medication, and the best adjuvant methods cited by parents were reinforcing positive behaviour, correcting with words and setting a good example.

Complementary and alternative medicine in epilepsy: A global survey of physicians' opinions

PURPOSE

To investigate the opinions of physicians on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with epilepsy (PWE) worldwide.

METHODS

Online survey addressed to neurologists and psychiatrists from different countries.

RESULTS

Totally, 1112 physicians from 25 countries (different world region: Europe, North America, South America, Middle-East, Africa, Former Soviet Union Republics) participated; 804 (72.3%) believed that CAM might be helpful in PWE. The most commonly endorsed CAM included meditation (41%) and yoga (39%). Female sex, psychiatry specialization, and working in North and South America were associated with the belief that CAM is helpful in PWE. Two-hundred and forty five out of 1098 participants (22.3%) used/prescribed CAM to PWE; among them, 174 (71%) people perceived CAM to be less effective and 114 (46.5%) people found CAM to be safer than conventional antiseizure medications (ASMs). The most common reasons to prescribe CAM for PWE were: to satisfy the patient (49.9%), dissatisfaction with the efficacy (35.6%), and dissatisfaction with the adverse effects (31.2%) of conventional therapies.

CONCLUSION

Although the evidence supporting the use of CAM for the treatment of epilepsy is extremely sparse, most physicians worldwide believe that it could be integrated with the use of conventional ASMs, at least in some patients. High-quality controlled trials are warranted to provide robust evidence on the usefulness of CAM options in PWE.

Beliefs of parents of children with mental disorders in a university hospital out-patient clinic in Colombia

OBJECTIVE

Describe the beliefs of parents about the mental disorders of their children who attended a paediatric outpatient clinic at a university hospital.

METHODS

This was a descriptive study with parents of children with mental disorders seen from January to May of 2018 at a high complexity hospital in Medellin, Colombia. Ninety-eight (98) parents of children and adolescents attending their first outpatient consultation with Paediatric Psychiatry were studied. An instrument designed by the investigators was applied to obtain demographic variables and beliefs about the origin of their child's mental disorder, treatment and adjuvants.

RESULTS

49.9% of the 98 parents believed that their child had a mental disorder. 43.9% believed the disorder was inherited and 41.8% believed its cause was organic. 95.9% of the parents believed the child needed treatment, including psychotherapy (90.4%) and medication (58.51%). Among the alternative treatments the parents believed the child needed, healing was the most commonly cited by 27.5% of the parents. Of the adjuvant methods, the most commonly cited were reinforcing positive behaviour (82.7%) and correcting with words and setting a good example (72.4%).

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly half of the parents believed their child had a mental disorder, the treatment that was most commonly considered was psychotherapy above medication, and the best adjuvant methods cited by parents were reinforcing positive behaviour, correcting with words and setting a good example.

Effect of an Educational Intervention Delivered to Senior Nursing Students to Strengthen Spiritual Care for People with Chronic Illness

This is an experimental, quantitative, parallel design study (control and experimental groups) with pre- and post-intervention assessment without blinding, which aimed to determine the effect of an educational intervention delivered to ninety Colombian senior nursing students to strengthen perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care for people with chronic illness. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) was used as the instrument of measurement. The Wilcoxon test was used for comparisons between two groups, and the Kruskal-Wallis test for the comparison of global scale scores between the intervention group and the control group. To determine the effect of the intervention, Cohen's d statistic was used. The intervention modified the perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in the experimental group (median = 80.2, SD = 10.2) compared with their initial perceptions (median = 70, SD = 11.2), p ≤ 0.001. The effect size (ES) of the intervention was 0.63, with a power of 0.80, indicating a moderate and acceptable effect size.

Complementary and integrative medicine in epilepsy: What patients and physicians perceive

PURPOSE

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the extent to which people with epilepsy (PWE) use complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) to treat their illness and to assess their perceptions. We also investigated the perceptions of their treating physicians.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, all adult patients with epilepsy, who had the illness for at least one year, were recruited at the outpatient epilepsy clinic at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, from January 2019 until March 2019. A questionnaire was designed for this survey. We also designed a similar questionnaire to investigate perceptions of the physicians in the same region.

RESULTS

One hundred and one patients participated. Seventy-one patients (70%) believed that CIM would be helpful in treating seizures; the most commonly reported CIM therapies were prayers, exercise, and herbs. Sixteen patients (16%) had actually used CIM to treat their seizures, but only one patient perceived that CIM was more effective than antiepileptic drugs to bring her seizures under control. Thirty-one neurologists participated in the study. Seventeen neurologists (55%) believed that CIM would be helpful in treating epileptic seizures. The most commonly reported CIM therapies were meditation, yoga, and exercise.

CONCLUSION

Complementary and integrative medicine is considered and used by many PWE to treat epileptic seizures. Cultural issues probably play an important role in having faith in CIM. Physicians involved in the care of PWE should provide appropriate information regarding the safety and efficacy of various CIM treatments for PWE.