Journal of Religion & Health最新文献

This study explores the lived experiences of oncology nurses providing spiritual care within Saudi Arabia's Islamic cultural context. Guided by a descriptive phenomenological design and Colaizzi's method of analysis, in-depth interviews were conducted with 22 registered oncology nurses working in three cancer centers in Riyadh. Findings reveal that nurses conceptualize spiritual care not as discrete religious practices, but as an integrated, relational dimension of everyday nursing, grounded in Islamic moral and spiritual values. Spiritual care was understood as compassionate presence, ethical mediation, family facilitation, and meaning-centered communication, often experienced as a form of worship (ibādah). Five themes emerged: spiritual care through an Islamic lens; the sacred dimensions of nursing practice; navigating professional and religious boundaries; family-centered spiritual support; and nurses' personal spiritual resources and challenges. The study highlights the need for culturally responsive spiritual care education and institutional frameworks that recognize spiritual care as a core professional nursing competency within Islamic healthcare settings.

The gap in the worldview of spiritual leaders regarding public health and safety became apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. It engendered narratives and health behaviors that led to the deaths of many. This interdisciplinary study examines the relationship between religious beliefs, practices, and health behavior. In two parts, this empirical research, through a literature review, secondary data analysis, and available narratives in academic and media spaces, deconstructs the activities of some African and North American Neo-Pentecostals during the pandemic. Part 1, presented here, provides evidence of the narratives and discusses the causes of misinformation and hesitancy. Part 2 addressed the public health implications, the ideal theological response, leadership gaps, and lessons learned. Three fundamental points are evident in both parts. The first is a poor "theology of medicine" in health crises. The second is the poor leadership approach to crisis management. The third is the long-term tension and a lack of synergy between health professionals, health policymakers, and spiritual leaders. The outcome of Part 1 revealed that the causes of anti-vaccination narratives are rooted in theological, social, and economic factors. Part 1 concludes with a summary of the lessons and an overview of what to expect in Part 2 of the exercise.

The integration of spirituality into counseling has gained increased attention due to its significant impact on psychological well-being. However, mental health professionals often face challenges with incorporating spiritual dimensions into therapy, primarily due to inadequate training, conceptual ambiguity, and ethical concerns. This qualitative phenomenological study aims to explore mental health professionals' perspectives on addressing spirituality in counseling and to assess the necessity of a specialized training program to enhance competencies in this area. We used criterion sampling to select 11 experienced psychologists, counselors, and academics to, conduct semi-structured interviews, and analyze the data using descriptive analysis to identify the key themes related to integrating spirituality into counseling. The findings reveal that the current training curricula does not adequately cover spirituality, which has led to a lack of confidence among mental health professionals. The participants highlighted several barriers, including professional hesitancy, ethical concerns, clients' misunderstandings, and the dominance of secular educational models. Additionally, the study identified the specific competencies needed for integrating spirituality into counseling and categorized them into knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The professionals emphasized the need for a structured training program that includes conceptual knowledge about spirituality, evidence-based intervention techniques, ethical considerations, and culturally sensitive approaches. Furthermore, recommendations were made regarding the content, format, and evaluation methods for such a training module. The study underscores the urgent need for standardized training to equip mental health professionals with the skills required to address spirituality in an ethical and culturally competent manner.

This study employs national survey data collected roughly one year into the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the direct effects of SES (education and income) and religiosity on loneliness. Drawing on theories of resource substitution and resource multiplication, we test whether religiosity moderates the effects of SES on loneliness. Findings suggest that respondents with higher levels of education and income tend to report lower levels of loneliness. However, in accordance with resource substitution, the protective effect of income on loneliness was attenuated by higher divine control beliefs, while the protective effect of education was less pronounced among respondents reporting fewer R/S struggles. In support of resource multiplication, the protective effect of education on loneliness was amplified by regular religious attendance. We extend prior studies of religiosity and loneliness and suggest directions for future work.

Art is increasingly recognized as emotionally therapeutic for patients but is also a deeply spiritual medium which can promote health and well-being. There is a need to advance equity-oriented arts-based spiritual support in healthcare services to better meet the needs of diverse patients. The purpose of this paper is to carry out a philosophical analysis at the juncture of art, spirituality, health, and equity to understand their interconnectedness and demonstrate how arts-based spiritual support can reify or disrupt health inequities in Canada. We address three questions arising at this juncture: What are the philosophical grounds for integrating art and spirituality for health and well-being in an equitable way? How has the relationship between art and spirituality been theorized? What is the interplay between social identity factors and arts-based spiritual support in relation to inequities in healthcare? Arising from our analysis, we propose that a sustained commitment to equity and decolonization, intersectionality, trauma-and-violence-informed care, and respectful partnerships is essential to ensuring responsive and inclusive art and spirituality initiatives amid growing social and health inequities.

Spiritual care offers significant benefits to hospice patients and caregivers. However, disparities exist in the perceived quality of spiritual care among African-American caregivers. We interviewed bereaved caregivers of African-American decedents, their chaplains and clergy, and conducted a medical record review to explore the sources of spiritual care that support well-being for African-American patients and caregivers in hospice. We found that both chaplains and clergy supported social and spiritual well-being, whereas other hospice team members were seen as responsible for the hospice environment and physical well-being. Church congregations and families were most involved in providing social and emotional support.

This study examined the relationship between spiritual well-being, resilience, and adherence of hemodialysis patients and the factors affecting them. The data were collected from 182 hemodialysis patients receiving treatment in a dialysis center who met the inclusion criteria by purposive sampling method in Istanbul. The data were collected with the patient description questionnaire, which measures patient sociodemographic characteristics and characteristics related to the medical diagnosis, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the End-Stage Renal Failure-Adherence Questionnaire. Gender, educational status, employment status, and mean age of patients were found to be correlated with psychological resilience. Marital status, employment status, cohabitants, and mean age of patients were found to be correlated with spiritual well-being. Gender, number of weekly dialysis sessions, and dialysis competencies were found to be correlated with hemodialysis patients' adherence to their treatment. Hemodialysis patients' adherence was positively correlated with both the faith subscale of spiritual well-being and psychological resilience. According to regression analysis, gender and resilience explained 12.8% of the total variance of adherence. This study determined that resilience is an essential factor in increasing the adherence of hemodialysis patients.

Problematic social media use has been increasingly linked to reduced quality of life; however, the mechanisms behind this association remain unclear. This study examined whether emotional eating mediates the relationship between social media addiction and quality of life, and whether spirituality moderates this relationship. The sample consisted of 612 young adults (M = 21.43 years, SD = 4.54) in Poland, and validated research instruments were employed. Results showed an indirect relationship between social media addiction and quality of life through emotional eating. Moreover, spirituality moderated the relationship between emotional eating and quality of life, such that the indirect effect was significant for individuals with average or high levels of spirituality but non-significant for those with low levels. The results were highly comparable between females and males. These findings suggest that higher levels of spirituality may be associated with lower quality of life when individuals engage in behaviors that conflict with their values.

Open-heart surgery is a physically, psychologically, and spiritually demanding experience, making holistic nursing care essential for supporting patients' overall well-being. This study aimed to explore the spiritual care experiences of nurses providing care to patients undergoing open-heart surgery. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to capture the meaning structures underlying nurses' experiences. The study was conducted in the Cardiovascular Surgery (CVS) intensive care unit and ward of Van Training and Research Hospital. Data were collected between May and June 2025 through face-to-face, in-depth individual interviews with 10 nurses who had experience caring for patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Interviews were audio-recorded with participants' consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using Braun and Clarke's six-phase thematic analysis approach with support from MAXQDA 24. The analysis revealed four main themes and 24 sub-themes reflecting the core meaning of nurses' spiritual care experiences. The main themes are: 1- The nurse's inner world and clinical reflections of spiritual care, 2- Patients' individual spiritual needs, belief systems, and perceptions of illness and death, 3- Implementation of spiritual care: the nurse's role and the texture of care, 4- Barriers and system-level constraints in providing spiritual care. Nurses reported that spiritual care enhanced patients' inner peace, coping capacity, and readiness for surgery while strengthening the therapeutic relationship. However, limited education and inadequate institutional support hindered the consistent delivery of spiritual care. The findings underscore the importance of developing culturally sensitive training programs, establishing institutional guidelines, and promoting multidisciplinary collaboration to strengthen nurses' competence and extend the integration of spiritual care into clinical practice.