The Role of Spirituality in Mental Health during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review Study

One of the most important aspects of human existence is spirituality. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has experienced a crisis in today's world. Evidence and information on the impact of this stressful crisis on spiritual and mental health is scarce and highly variable. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of spirituality on mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this narrative review study, the Persian studies were searched in Persian language databases such as Noormags, Alamnet, SID, Iran Medex and Magiran with the keywords: Spiritual Health, Spirituality, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Patient, during 2019-2021. The studies in English language were searched with the keywords: Spiritual Health, Spirituality, Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Patient, in PubMed and Scopus databases during 2019-2021. Besides, the search was done in Google Scholar database in Persian and English. Finally, 432 studies were found, of which 8 papers were included in the study by applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria and removing duplicate cases.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, spirituality had a positive effect on people's mental health. Spirituality leads to a reduction in fear of death, plays a mediating role in the negative effects of pervasive fear in terms of attitudes toward a positive future and the quality of relationships with family, and reduces depression and anxiety in those affected.

The results of the study indicate the need to pay attention to people's spirituality and mental health in relation to their personal and environmental health.