A substantial volume of the literature suggests that religious factors buffer against alcohol/substance use among adults, but research among adolescents is sparse. Further, few studies in this area have been prospective, and therefore it is unclear how religion may impact less alcohol/substance use among adolescents.
Method
We prospectively evaluated effects of religious...
Question: Can a brief self-guided forgiveness workbook intervention alter forgiveness and depression and anxiety symptoms?
Findings: In this multi-site randomized waitlist-controlled trial among 4,598 participants in Colombia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, and Ukraine, randomization to immediate receipt of the forgiveness workbook resulted in reductions in unforgiveness (-0.52 standardized mean difference), depression symptoms (-0.22), and anxiety symptoms (-0.21) compared to delayed receipt of the...
Importance Despite growing evidence, the role of spirituality in serious illness and health has not been systematically assessed.
Objective To review evidence concerning spirituality in serious illness and health and to identify implications for patient care and health outcomes.
Evidence Review Searches of PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science identified articles with evidence addressing spirituality in serious illness or health, published January...
Abstract: This chapter uses a population health perspective to examine the role of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love in promoting human health and well-being. We begin with an overview of public health’s traditional focus on health-related exposures and outcomes and then summarize growing evidence...
Community-based clergy are highly engaged in helping seriously ill patients address spiritual concerns at the end of life (EOL). While they desire EOL training, no data exist in guiding how to conceptualize a...
Abstract: Much of the research on the relationships between religious participation and health comes from the United States. Studies in other geographic regions or cultural contexts is more sparse. Evidence presented by Ahrenfelt et al., and that from other research studies, is reviewed concerning the associations between religion and health within Europe and world-wide. The evidence within Europe suggests protective associations between various forms of religious participation and lower depression, lower mortality, and better self-rated health. Methodological challenges...
Abstract Context: Although religion often informs ethical judgments, little is known about the views of American clergy regarding controversial end-of-life ethical issues including allowing to die and physician aid in dying or physician-assisted suicide (PAD/PAS). Objective: To describe the views of U.S. clergy concerning allowing to die and PAD/PAS. Methods: A survey was mailed to 1665 nationally representative clergy between 8/2014 to 3/2015 (60% response rate). Outcome variables included beliefs about whether the terminally ill should ever be ‘‘allowed to...
For centuries, physicians and other healers have witnessed how illness focuses attention on “ultimate meaning, purpose, and transcendence, and … relationship to self, family, others, community, society, nature, and the significant or sacred.”1 Patients often discover strength and solace in their spirituality, both informally through deeper connections with family and friends, and formally through religious communities and practices. However, modern day...
Abstract The State of the Science in Spirituality and Palliative Care was convened to address the current landscape of research at the intersection of spirituality and palliative care and to identify critical next steps to advance this field of inquiry. Part I of the SOS-SPC two-part series focuses on questions of 1) What is spirituality? 2) What methodological and measurement issues are most salient for research in palliative care? And 3) What is the evidence relating spirituality and health outcomes? After describing current evidence we make recommendations for future research in...
Many empirical studies throughout the social and biomedical sciences focus only on very narrow outcomes such as income, or a single specific disease state, or a measure of positive affect. Human well-being or flourishing, however, consists in a much broader range of states and outcomes, certainly including mental and physical health, but also encompassing happiness and life satisfaction, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. The empirical literature from longitudinal, experimental, and...
Background: People with serious illness frequently rely on religion/spirituality to cope with their diagnosis, with potentially positive and negative consequences. Clergy are uniquely positioned to help patients consider medical decisions at or near the end of life within a religious/spiritual framework.
Objective: We aimed to examine clergy knowledge of end-of-life (EOL) care and beliefs about the role of faith in EOL decision making for patients with serious illness.
Context. Although clergy interact with approximately half of U.S. patients facing end-of-life medical decisions, little is known about clergy-congregant interactions or clergy influence on end-of-life decisions.
Objective. The objective was to conduct a nationally representative survey of clergy beliefs and practices.
Methods. A mailed survey to a nationally representative sample of clergy completed in March 2015 with 1005 of 1665 responding (60% response rate). The primary predictor variable was clergy religious values about end-of-life medical decisions, which...
Research has gradually accumulated suggesting that religious participation is a powerful social determinant of health.The role of religion in shaping health is given relatively little attention in most public health curricula today. When religion is discussed, it is often in the context of being an impediment to public health progress. However, the research, which has become increasingly rigorous, suggests that religious participation in general, and religious service attendance in particular, is a powerful health resource affecting outcomes ranging from longevity and...
