مجله فرهنگ و ارتقای سلامت (فرهنگستان علوم پزشکی جمهوری اسلامی ایران)
سال سوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 6، تابستان 1398)

The outstanding spiritual persons with spiritual health have prominent and excellent characteristics in the Holy Quran and Islamic teachings. Verse 29 of Raad Sura from the Holy Quran, introduces these instances, beautifully.  “Those who believe in God and work righteousness, is [every] blessedness, and beautiful place of [final] return. The exemplary aspects and religious models of Islamic spiritual health are summarized.

This article prepared from panel of the sixth Islamic Spiritual Health Conference which was held in March 2019 and completed by using library studies.

Throughout the history of Islam from the first to the contemporary, we find many prominent personalities, inspirational scientists, physicians and spiritual persons in the Islam and Iran culture and civilization. These examples of Islamic spiritual health are objective and effective models in different aspects of life including ethical, educational, scientific and professional behavior and lifestyle.

Human needs a practical model for moving to future. Therefore, the most natural, most effective and fastest method of training is the model method, which presents examples and the practical education. The role of models is the most sensitive of educational role which competent models lead people to excellence and corrupt models lead them to corruption. Recognition of the obvious and hidden characteristics of models life and introducing them to community is needed to promote Islamic spiritual health and is more effective than other promotional methods.

Spiritual health is a complex issue because of differences in one’s concept of spirituality, holistic view and world values; these matters need to be defined according to the specific views of each group. These beliefs involve theology, cosmology, anthropology and eschatology. Religion can provide prosperous guidance for the development of spiritual health. This paper seeks   signs that lead to the development of Spiritual Health.

This paper was written via a library search (textual, software and digital resources) in a descriptive-analytic method. The position of man in the universe, the purpose of   creation of mankind, the importance of spiritual health and the effects of belief in the perfection of the universe were sought    for Signs that lead one to the development of spiritual health based on Quranic documents.

Understanding perfection in the order of the universe, perceiving the privileged position of man in the hierarchy over other beings, and belief in the originality and survival of the soul results in understanding the essential purpose of creation, which is the perfection of man and the universe. Man cannot achieve the ultimate goal of creation (i.e. perfection of the soul) by relying on his own perception. Rather, the attainment of higher perfection requires the attainment of spiritual health through theology and education, revelations and following the divine prophets as role models.

In the perfection of the universe there are signs that lead one to attain spiritual health. Spiritual health will result in understanding the meaning of life, spiritual vitality, satisfaction with divine ordinances,  no fear or anxiety of death, proper interaction with society .,nature, and ultimately eternal happiness.

Investigating the relationship between spiritual health and academic performance can help educational authorities bridge the gap between academics and spirituality at universities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between spiritual health and academic achievement of medical students at Shahid University of Medical Sciences.

In this study, 300 medical students of Shahid University were randomly selected in 2018. The data collection tools consisted of a three-part questionnaire for demographic information, spiritual health and self-regulation in learning. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were evaluated at the beginning of the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney and Spearman correlations after entering the data SPSS v.18 software.

Finally, 275 students completed the relevant questionnaires. The mean score of spiritual health, self-regulation in learning and the grade point average (GPA) of the students were 92.97 ± 17.12, 97.95 ± 15.28 and 16.21 ± 3.1 respectively. Based on the results of this study, there was a positive and significant correlation between the 3 components of the score, the total score of spiritual health and the total self-regulation score in learning. Also, there was a significant correlation between the total score of spiritual health with gender and parent's educational level.

Based on the results of this study, students with higher levels of GPA and higher academic performance had higher spiritual health.

The history of spiritual health dates back to ancient times and has sometimes manifested itself in a semantic way. In 1979, the World Health Organization in an International Conference, added spiritual health to the three former Healths (physical, mental and social). The characteristics of Islam emphasize the matters of all aspects of human life. However, in Islamic education, the spiritual dimension is the ultimate goal, but achieving this great goal is possible in the light of a healthy and spirited physical body. Child education experts acknowledge that the best period for child upbringing is childhood. Because in this age the sense of imitation and the sense of acceptance of the educational teachings are at a high level of empowerment and the child learns well what he is taught.

Library review and use of rich Islamic resources and websites (Research Gate, Pubmed, Google Scholar)

Ethics or spirituality, or values, are an inseparable part of any culture. The existence of morals not only prevents the spread of corruption and ultimately the degradation of society, but also promotes   perfection, development, and moral well-being of the people of a society. Spiritual health is a vague and complicated process of human evolution that provides a coherent relationship between the forces of the individual with the characteristics of stability in life, peace, being close to God, self, society and environment, which determine the integrity and integrity of the individual. One of the main duties of education is to provide spiritual health of the new generation. Educational activities are directly or indirectly effective in educating students.  The role of teachers and educators is more prominent. Today, scholars have explicitly spoken about the spiritualization (spirituality) in the realm of education.

The school's mission is not only information and education, but also a home and family environment; it is an important factor in creating ethics. The gathering of children at school creates a connection between them, which is possible with proper education of spirituality in schools, observing the principle of mediation and balance.

In the community-based and holistic health services approach  attention to the bio- psycho-social spiritual health of patients and clients, at all levels is necessary . This study was aimed to assess how spiritual health affects other aspects of health (i.e. Physical-Psycho-Social) .

In evolutionary research, the Walker Avant content analysis method was used to upgrade existing knowledge with a systematic, scientific and justifiable process focusing on the question "How spiritual health affects bio- psycho-social health?" The scientific and religious literature  from 1990 to 2018 was extracted according to the evidence-based. Shite commentaries, authentic narrations (Khamam Nahjolbalagheh, the forces of wisdom and ignorance hadith, Envan –Basree Hadith, divine love hadith) and clinical evidence in health services were analyzed.

Spiritual health means having Sound Heart, which is the result of true worship – submission to God – disregard of self-interest, trusting in God, delegating affairs to God and enduring hardships - paying attention to God's laws and prohibitions, avoiding selfishness and reforming lifestyle. It also affects health by: creating a social support network, managing stress and giving meaning to life in the psychological dimension, and creating health behaviors in the physical dimension. True worship creates:  asceticism, contentment (social health) - Liberation from anxiety and depression (mental health), - Love and devotion to God (spiritual health). Mental relaxation improves physical health.

The strengthening of the spiritual foundation of patients /clients increases their bio- psycho-social health and achieves the highest quality of life (Hayat Tayebeh). Spiritual health should be considered seriously in Iranian Health Services.

In some verses of the Holy Quran, those who feed others have been praised and those who do not are blamed. Poverty and hunger are important factors relating to crime and sin in society. Spiritual and cultural poverty are important causes of crime and corruption in society. One of the   obligations of Muslims is to pay attention to the hungry, deprived and orphans. 

 This study was performed by overviewing lectures from the “Quran and Etrat Conference” which was held in Kashan and also analyzing keywords based on a book named “Tafsire Noor”.

In this study, fourteen verses were selected from the Holy Quran and were summarized as Quranic teachings.

 Food is one of the divine blessings and essential for all human beings, from creation to the end of life. In Quranic culture eating (to satisfy a material need) accompanies and to satisfy a spiritual need. Islam recommends feeding the poor and providing their needs.  Feeding poor people  relates to human dignity. Even people who are not  wealthy are responsible for feeding  impoverished people, and  must  encourage others to do  so.

Spiritual health is a new combination in medical and cultural literature but can be analyzed by the basis of religion and secular aspects. This article expresses the anthropological basis of spiritual health.

Library documents and qualitative and descriptive studies were used .

Religious, philosophical and Islamic theosophy texts explain spirituality and spiritual health differently from secularist and materialist philosophy and this difference is based on their ontological and anthropological basis. Islamic experts must first determine their basis in spirituality and then present definitions, indices, patterns and correct explanation of spiritual health otherwise they may involve secularity thinking.

According to the view of Islamic philosophy and theosophy concordant with Quran believes spiritual health is the result of obeying of God will in the belief, charactristics and behavior by the help of religion and its effect is to access the divine guardian.

Spiritual health and Semantics have a history as old as humanity. These concepts have been explained  in Islamic teachings by religious scholars in terms of the "perfect human" with a "confident soul" and a "pure heart". This article reviews the strategies for promoting and implementing Islamic spiritual health in the society.

This article was selected from a panel at the 6th Islamic Spiritual Health Conference and completed by using library studies.

The results showed that in order to promote Islamic spiritual health it is essential to "Explain concepts and examples", "plan educational programs for higher education", "integrate public policies in the health care system", "improve health care centers", "improve  knowledge, ", "assess and address the health system", "evaluate realities, threats, needs and priorities via monitoring,’and  evaluating the trend in improvement of spiritual health in the community and  the health system".

Improvement in spiritual health of the community is based on Islamic teachings .models and efforts of health policymakers and academia. Educational systems (public education, higher education, religious education, etc), health policymakers, religious leaders and responsible organizations for health and culture, have to develop a comprehensive program for education, promotion and generalization of spiritual health in all aspects of the health care system.

Islam has a macro theory in the field of spirituality. This theory contains various dimensions such as "philosophical", "legal and jurisprudence", "ethical and values", and "civilization and history." This concept must be established in order to coordinate activities related to spiritual health and Islamic thought.

The basics, principles, rules and indices of the macro theory of Islamic spirituality from Islamic sources and collection of verses and religious texts are presented.

In this thought and macro theory of Islam, spirituality has the following characteristics:"It is a supernatural and comprehensive sense of feeling, emotion, rationality and argument", "It is consist of  monotheistic and holy component", "It has physical, mental and spiritual aspects", " It is for reaching to God and guiding human ", "with life style and Spiritual Life »

The complete and comprehensive health intended of Islam, consist of all aspects of human beings. Belief of one god, heaven and hell, engaging in healthy lifestyle and believing the movement of human to another and final world are its definitive components. It is suggested to design all of the necessary researches in the field of spiritual health based on the macro theory of Islamic spirituality.

Spiritual health is a relatively new topic in the world, especially in Islamic countries. This article explains the basics of “spiritual health” based on Islamic teachings; we evaluated it in three parts: 1) Definition of spiritual health. 2) Essential questions regarding spiritual health. and 3) Spiritual health in the Quran.

This study was performed using the Holy Quran and Islamic literature.

The scientific literature on this subject is very poor and sometimes eclectic, thus discussions are not well understood, and there are many key concepts in this field poorly understood. The contemporary definition of spiritual health has important philosophical and religious parameters for research. These questions begin with the basics of this topic and continue to more elaborate details. The Holy Quran is the highest and most important source of Islamic cognition, which relates to information regarding spiritual health, and should be reviewed systematically. The Quranic interpretation of the "the pure heart" is the closest expression to spiritual health; phrases with opposite meanings can be interpreted (in the Quran) as "the diseased heart", and some of important aspects and indicators of spiritual health can be identified with this method.

Spiritual health is: "The elated sublime status of the individual in the society and liberation from materialism under divine teaching and has four dimensions namely insight, attitude, behavior and action which are assessed in line with the teachings of the Holy Quran."

Spiritual health is an aspect of human health. Achieving spiritual health requires training.  In children it may suffice to guide their insights and beliefs toward spirituality. Appropriate planning must be done for children 7-12 years=old afor them to achieve spiritual insight.. In this article, approppriate spiritual insights for this age group and transmitted methods (of this insight) to children, are reviewed.

Different library documents, qualitative and descriptive studies were used.

Theology and guidance are the most important spiritual insights that should be taken by parents to the children. Parents have to change the childrens' insights to spiritual beliefs. Using educational tools and templates makes learning easier and more enjoyable, and improves the practical application of the child's spiritual lifestyle to the practical effects of spirituality.

Parents have to detect the time for transmitting spiritual insights in which the child's learning, memorization and beliefs are at the highest level.

Today, the role of the pharmacist is not only limited to dispensing drugs to patients; but also to provide patients with guidelines to observe regarding dosage, route of administtration, possible side effects and drug interactions; it is imperative to ensure the patient’s cognizance and awareness of these issues. This paper sought to explain the obstacles against promotion of pharmaceutical care in Iran and proposed methods to overcome them.

Available studies and information on this topic were reviewed.

We failed to find a study in this field in Iran, though, scanty available data on “continuous nature of quality improvement” and introduction of a new role for pharmacists under the title of "pharmaceutical care" were found; in addition continuous promotion of quality of pharmaceutical care may be necessary. Improving the quality of pharmaceutical care should be  based on empowering pharmacists, improvement of knowledge, attitude, skills and behavior.

We proposed a number specific strategies to improve the quality of pharmaceutical care in our country. Based on the upstream programs in our health care system, notable drug production and sufficient number of pharmacy graduates, there is a bright future for achieving the desired goals for pharmaceutical care.

Conflict of interests in social interactions is inevitable. Policymakers try to manage it in a way that it does not serve as a breach of trust. This article presents some of the ethical implications of the physician-patient relationship, conflict of physicians with drug companies, and conflicts in medical research.

Oral health usually is not considered as a priority of health as it is not a direct cause of death. Oral health status in the world and Iran is not favorable. In Iran, over than ninety percent of adults suffer from oral problems. The DMFT index, which shows the number of decayed, missing (due to caries only) and restored teeth, has reported about 13 in Iranian adults. Each person looses one tooth every 3 year. DMFT is different across provinces. The best index is reported from Hormozgan provinces and southeastern regions and the worst is from Azerbaijan and Kurdistan. Expensive dental services and insufficient insurance coverage, activity of majority of dentists in metropolises, inaccessibility of people living in slums and rural areas to dental services, concerns on induced demands due to the large number of dental graduates are among the main challenges for oral health promotion. This article presents suggestions for the mentioned challenges and problems.