Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics
Volume:9 Issue: 2, Jun 2022

Spiritual well-being is very important in adaptation and peace of mind, especially in certain periods of life. Middle age is associated with many biological, psychological, and social changes and problems such depression and hopelessness. This study aims to investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being, depression, and hope in middle-aged women in Qom, Iran.

This is a descriptive-analytical study with cross-sectional design that was conducted on 100 middle-aged women referred to community health centers in Qom city, who were selected by a convenience sampling method. Data were collected by three questionnaires including Paloutzian and Ellison’s spiritual well-being scale (SWBS), Beck’ depression inventory (BDI), adult hope scale (AHS), which were completed through interview. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 21 software using regression analysis.

The Mean±SD total scores of SWBS, BDI, and AHS were 73.43±1.25, 31.10±0.91, and 16.26±0.34, respectively. There was a significant relationship between spiritual well-being and depression and between spiritual health and hope (P≤0.001). Moreover, spiritual well-being and hope had a significant relationship with depression (P≤0.001).

Middle-aged women with high spiritual well-being have less depression and more hope. It is recommended to pay more attention to spiritual well-being of these women to maintain their mental health and increase their hope.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women which can cause spiritual distress in them. This study aims to assess the effects of mindfulness-based schema therapy (MBST) and transdiagnostic intervention on spiritual distress of women with breast cancer.

This is a quasi-experimental study (Clinical trial) with a pre-test/post-test/ follow-up design using a control group. Participants were 41 women with breast cancer referred to Omid and Imam Reza hospitals in Mashhad, Iran during 2017-2020, who were selected using a convenience sampling method and randomly assigned into two experimental groups and one control group. For both experimental groups, the intervention was performed at ten weekly sessions. The used instrument was the Spiritual Distress Scale of Ku et al. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS software, version 25 software.

There was a significant difference in the mean scores of spiritual distress in the experimental groups compared to the control group in the post-test and follow-up phases (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between the effectiveness of transdiagnostic intervention and MBST in the post-test and follow-up phases (P>0.05).

Both transdiagnostic intervention and MBST can reduce the spiritual distress of women with breast cancer.

Spiritual intelligence (SI) is a combination of many factors such as the capacity for transcendence, transcendental awareness, recognition of spiritual beings, and the use of spiritual resources to solve problems. This study aims to determine the SI of students in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) and its relationship with demographic and educational factors.

This descriptive-analytical study that was conducted on 318 students of KUMS in Kermanshah, Iran in 2017 who were selected using a random sampling method. The data were collected using a self-report questionnaire. Data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 16.

The Mean±SD of SI was 102.53±22.53. The students obtained 70.7% of the maximum obtainable score for SI. In overall, 75 students (25.3%) had low SI, 213(72%) had moderate SI, and 8(2.7%) had high SI. Older age had a significant relationship with SI (P=0.033).

Most of students in KUMS have moderate SI. It can be improved by educational interventions.

Patients have certain rights that are expected to be observed and respected by healthcare providers. These rights include universal as well as local rights determined by the social and cultural context of any society. Patient’s rights consist of statements issued to declare the duties of the health providers pertaining to patients. There are charters of patient rights in different countries including Iran. However, it seems necessary to investigate more exactly the patient rights in accordance with the Islamic perspective as the fundamental value system of the country. This study was conducted to explore and explain the patient’s rights from the clerics’ point of view.

This was a conventional qualitative content analysis study. The participants were 20 clerics living in Qom selected through purposeful sampling, who met the inclusion criteria and could provide their understanding of the patient’s rights in the context of Islam. Deep semi-structured interviews were conducted. The interviews were coded and categorized through qualitative content analysis.

This study led to the identification of four themes as the main features of patient’s rights from the clerics’ point of view including respect for patient autonomy, considering non-physical needs of patients, high-quality healthcare, and moral conduct.

According to the findings of this study, patient rights from the viewpoint of the clerics includes besides attending other needs of patients, their spiritual needs that should be addressed by healthcare providers.

The stress related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be a risk factor for other psychological disorders in society. The present study aims to investigate the role of spiritual capital and mindfulness in predicting COVID-19-related stress in college students.

This is a descriptive-correlational study. The study population consist of all male and female students of Farhangian University in Birjand, Iran during 2021-2022. Of these, 242 eligible students were selected using a web-based non-probabilistic sampling method. They completed the Spiritual Capital Scale of Golparvar et al. (2015), the Southampton Mindfulness Questionnaire of Chadwick et al. (2008), and the Corona Stress Scale of Salimi (2015). For data analysis, Pearson’s correlation test and multiple regression analysis were used in SPSS software, version 22. The significance level was set at 0.05.

The relationship between spiritual capital and COVID-19-related stress (r=-0.585, P<0.01), and between mindfulness and COVID-19-related stress (r=-0.4569, P<0.01) was negative and significant. The spiritual capital explained 34.2% of the variance and the mindfulness explained 19.9% of the variance in COVID-19-related stress.

Spiritual capital and mindfulness can predict the COVID-19-related stress among college students. This indicates the need for planning to improve individual, social, and spiritual

The three main elements of the home, study environment, and mass media have a fundamental role in the tendency and attitude of adolescents and young people to pray. This study was conducted to determine students’ attitudes toward prayer, the causes of their tendency toward it, and its impact on various aspects of their lives.

This descriptive study was performed among 192 students of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan City, Iran. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire through the press line system. Data were analyzed by SPSS software, version 18 using an independent t-test and One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at a significance level of less than 0.05.

A total of 60.9% of students reported that they perform daily prayers. The Mean±SD score of students’ attitude about praying is 121.99±199.97 out of 165. A significant correlation was observed between the mean score of attitude and behavior. A significant relationship was also found between the mean score of students’ attitudes and the variables of father’s education, father’s and mother’s occupation (P<0.05). The students believed that prayer brings peace and vitality to the soul, order and discipline in life, good mood, family unity, and reduced anxiety and stress.

Considering the role and impact of family and university environment on students’ prayer and students’ beliefs on the impact of prayer on various life issues, paying attention to the results of this type of research to institutionalize prayer among students can be useful.

With the institutionalization of tolerance in the health system, the level of intimacy increases, and the possibility of benefiting more than the company of patients and their companions are provided. Tolerance reduces the number of damages by improving the level of security and improves the health level by facilitating the achievement of goals. To achieve the above positive points, it seems necessary to have a written program in this field, especially considering the cultural and religious characteristics of Iran.