Journal of Religion & Health最新文献

Duâ, an act of worship, signifies a profound connection between an individual and their Creator, reflecting trust in God's power and will. It encompasses dimensions such as quantity, style, purpose, and target. This research aimed to develop reliable measures of duâ for Pakistani Muslim adults using a mixed- method exploratory sequential design across two studies. Study 1 was conducted in three phases. In Phase 1, thematic analysis was conducted using qualitative methods such as focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and insights from pertinent theoretical framework. This analysis identified seven themes for duâ, aligning with existing literature on prayer experiences. Based on these themes, an initial set of 70 items for the duâ scale (DS) was developed. Phase 2 focused on translating and cross-validating the Prayer Importance Scale, Tatmainn al-Qulūb Scale, and Brief Trust vs. Mistrust in God Scale. In Phase 3, the content-validated item pool of 67 items was administered to a large sample of Pakistani Muslim adults (N = 461) and analyzed through exploratory factor analysis (EFA). EFA revealed 7-factor structure factor loading (with item loading .49 to .87) of the DS containing 40 items with a cumulative variance of 61.10%. Factors including prayer quantity (3 items); free prayer style (5 items); bounded prayer style (8 items); outward prayer purpose (7 items); inward prayer purpose (5 items); engaged prayer target (7 items) and distant prayer target (5 items). Duâ showed a significant positive correlation with centrality of religiosity, importance of prayer, and trust in God, and a non-significant correlation with mistrust in God, supporting the convergent and discriminant validity of the DS. In the second study (N = 703), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the scale's structure, matching the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with 40 items and 7 subscales. In the final measurement model, all constructs had an average variance extracted (AVE) greater than .50, and maximum shared variance (MSV) values were lower than the AVE. The diagonal values of the square root of the AVE exceeded the intercorrelations, confirming the DS as a reliable and valid measure of duâ. Evidence for the measurement invariance of DS suggested its consistency and comparability across Sunni and Non-Sunni Muslims. Further research is recommended to explore its application across different religious sects and ethnic groups globally.

The study of benefits linked to meditation and prayer has provided a considerable amount of empirical evidence revealing their positive influence on health, coping, resilience and flourishing. The practice of praying Rosary has drawn much less attention in academic circles, even if it could probably be enlisted with other forms of meditation and prayer with similar positive effects. The present research based on a broad international sample from three Catholic countries (Italy, Poland and Spain) assesses the extent to which such prayer is linked to subjective well-being, empathy and other expressions of religiosity. The sample size consisted of 361 participants. Sampling was conducted using a chain or network method, initiated by reaching out to individuals involved in Catholic movements and devotional groups. The estimated response rate was approximately 65%. The results point to positive moderate correlations of rosary with those variables, like reducing depression, increasing empathy and lowering religious struggles. The network structure analysis reveals that religiosity and religious struggle have the highest number of associations with other variables, establishing them as central factors. Additionally, the qualitative analysis of open-ended questions highlights the perceived protective effect of this prayer, which serves as a source of inner peace and a coping mechanism during times of distress.

The present study explored how Black Americans who misuse opioids frame their views of spirituality/religion and locus of control (LOC). The current sample consisted of 39 Black adults residing in two urban cities in Kentucky and reported prescription opioid misuse. Using a locus of control theory as a framework, we qualitatively explored participants' views of spirituality, religion, and opioid misuse. Structural-tabular thematic analysis (ST-TA) was used to analyze 39 interviews for three components of LOC: (1) external locus of control, (2) internal locus of control (ILC), and (3) mixed locus of control. Results indicated that participants' religious/spiritual views shaped their beliefs related to LOC, opioid misuse, and drug recovery. Directions for future research and implications for clinicians are discussed.

The association between religion/spirituality and emotion regulation has been the subject of growing interest in the last years since studies have suggested that emotion regulation is likely to be shaped by religion/spirituality. The purpose of this systematic review was to synthesize the quantitative empirical studies toward understanding the relationship between religion/spirituality and emotion regulation. Database searches were conducted in different databases from inception to March 2022 using relevant search terms. Quantitative studies exploring the role of religion/spirituality on emotion regulation were included in this review. Of 887 abstracts identified only 15 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Studies were organized in terms of associations between religion/spirituality and emotion regulation according to religious affiliation, associations between religion/spirituality and emotion regulation regardless of religious affiliation, and emotion regulation as a mediator between religion/spirituality and several psychological-related outcomes. Overall, the findings revealed small to moderate associations between religion and emotion regulation, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.13 to 0.50 for cognitive reappraisal, 0.08 to - 0.72 for expressive suppression, and - 0.09 to 0.56 for other emotion regulation dimensions. Furthermore, most studies highlighted emotion regulation as a key mechanism linking religion/spirituality to psychological outcomes across diverse contexts. Differences in emotion regulation strategies have been examined in a few religious affiliations and most of the studies explored the link between religion/spirituality and emotion regulation regardless of religious affiliation.

This descriptive and correlational study aimed to determine the levels of spiritual caregiving and compassion among Turkish Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses and evaluate the relationship between these two variables. This study included 135 ICU nurses working in a university hospital in Turkey. Descriptive information forms, the Compassion Scale (CS), and the Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS) were used for data collection. The participants' mean CS score was high, with the separation and common humanity subscales yielding the lowest and highest scores, respectively. The mean SCGS score was high, with the lowest and highest scores obtained from the spiritual care attitudes and spirituality perspectives, respectively. There is a positive correlation between CS and SCGS scores. This study concluded that Turkish ICU nurses demonstrated high levels of compassion and spiritual care and that there is a positive relationship between them. Cultural factors can affect compassion and spiritual care; therefore, future studies in different cultures are necessary to provide more valid evidence, possibly through experimental studies.

Nurses have been exposed to great tension in the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to investigate the impact of the teachings of the Quran on the stress, anxiety, depression, and resilience of nurses caring for COVID-19 patients. This is a quasi-experimental study on 70 nurses at Larestan and Gerash hospitals. The intervention was implemented in ten 30-min online and offline sessions through mobile phone-based applications. The standard resilience scale and DASS-21 were completed by the two study groups immediately before and one month after the intervention. The posttest total stress mean scores of the experimental and the control group were 5.77 ± 4.67 and 17.71 ± 3.22, respectively, showing a statistically significant difference between the two groups after the intervention (p-value < 0.05). Similarly, there was a statistically significant difference (p-value < 0.05) between the experimental and the control group' posttest total resilience mean scores (71.17 ± 15.16 and 36.05 ± 0.5, respectively). Accordingly, educational programs based on the teachings of the Quran are recommended as an effective way to improve resilience and decrease anxiety in nurses.

This paper attempts to evaluate how massive religious festival celebrations can encourage the faster spread of any pandemic according to our problem statement, such as the case of COVID-19. For example, we evaluate Israel's three major religions, namely  Judaism, Christianity, and the Islamic festival  celebrations, respectively. Firstly, we have the traditional Jewish festivities such as Hanukkah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Rosh Hashanah. In the Christian's traditional festivities celebrations, we identified Christmas, Easter Day, and All Saints Day. Finally, the Muslim festivities of Muharram and the Birthday of the Holy Prophet Mohamad. The purpose of  this study was to evaluate if these nine massive religious festival  celebrations are the main reasons for the large spread of COVID-19 in Israel directly or indirectly. In fact, we propose a new methodology to evaluate the impact of any massive religious festival celebration and the fast spread of any pandemic everywhere and anytime. The new indicator is entitled "The National Spread Levels of Infectious Diseases Risk from Massive Religious Festivities Index" (National-SLIDRMRF-Index). Finally, the major finding in this research is that any massive religious events can generate an exponential number of COVID-19 cases constantly. Therefore, this research concluded that we urgently need a standardized index to monitor  and control the expansion of any pandemic such as COVID-19 among different religious groups in the same country. At the same time, we give different policy recommendations to the Israeli government to constantly keep major controls and measures of different religious events in Jerusalem.

Drawing on studies with 40 informants in Ghana and 74 informants in South Africa, we explore spiritual interventions among staff and patients that accompany their use of assisted reproduction. These practices and expressions of faith reinforce staff and patients as moral subjects who have done everything possible to assist in the vagaries of assisted reproduction-another form of care to enable, complement, and enhance high-tech intervention. We consider the creation of sacred spaces in the clinics, the rituals that form part of IVF practice, and the dilemmas of translation when assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) travel to different cultural and religious contexts.

The implementation of voluntary assisted dying (VAD) in the Australian State of Victoria in 2019 has stimulated discussions about end-of-life care and dying in many communities. Various attempts have been made to represent the attitudes of the Jewish community, a distinct culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) group, in terms that suggest a unified set of opinions that opposes VAD policies. This research aimed to explore attitudes to VAD in the context of end-of-life care held by members of the Victorian Jewish community. A descriptive qualitative methodological design was employed. Ten Victorians who identify as Jewish were recruited and participated in in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis was carried out on the transcripts to identify key themes, attitudes and preferences in relation to end-of-life care, death and dying, and VAD. Three themes were identified: "complexity and variation", "similarities", and "factors influencing attitudes to VAD and end-of-life care". A significant degree of diversity was apparent, ranging from highly supportive of VAD to advocacy for a total repeal of the policy. The results indicate that images of how Victorian Jewish individuals feel towards VAD based on essentialised notions about the community and belief systems are not supported by the evidence. In reality, considerable diversity of attitudes exists towards VAD and end-of-life care. We conclude that it is important that policymakers and members of the broader society avoid stereotypes that falsely characterise this specific community and, by implication, other CALD groups, particularly in terms that ignore internal diversity regarding belief systems, social attitudes and ethical perspectives.