Journal of Research on Religion and Health
Year:2017 | Volume:3 | Issue:3|Papers Count:10

Health is a vital concept in human life and always the Human being shares some aspects of both animals and angels; while the greatest commonality of human and animals lies in physical and mundane features, wisdom is what human and angels have in common.Although medical sciences have made considering similarities between human and animal inevitable in order to conduct experimentations and research, addressing this aspect of human being can divert attention from his spiritual dimensions.

Background and Objective: Spiritual dimension plays an essential role in human health, thus attracting great interest in teaching spirituality. Spiritual health has a positive impact on the health, longevity and recovery from physical illnesses. Given that, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mental health education on hope as well as coping strategies of patients with Multiple Sclerosis.Method: This study was a clinical trial whose population were members of the ‘community support for MS patients’ in Tehran. After calculating the sample size, sampling was conducted in two stages: first, 100 members of the community in support of the MS patients were selected. Second, 30 of them were randomly assigned to two groups, namely experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. Spiritual health group teaching for 8 sessions of 90 minutes was held by a trained clinical psychologist. Privacy as a fundamental principle in the treatment of patients was also considered by keeping the personal information confidential. Data collection tools included Miller Hope Scale (MHS) and Lazarus and Folkman’s Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ). Pre-test and post-test results were analyzed using covariance. In this study, all the ethical issues were considered; moreover, the authors declare no conflict of interest.Results: The results demonstrated that the teaching made a significant difference between the experimental and control group. After controlling for pre-test scores, a significant difference between the mean scores of hope (p=<.000) and coping strategies (emotion-focused and problem-focused) was found between the groups on post-test (p=<.000).Conclusion: According to the findings, Spiritual health education can raise hope and foster effective coping strategies (problem-focused) in people who suffer from MS.

Background and Objective: Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is one of the most challenging clinical issues. Due to considerable expenses associated with OCD, revisiting the related literature to take up a useful therapeutic option seems necessary. The present study aimed to compare the schema of the primary defense mechanisms incompatible with religious attitude among women with OCD and healthy women.Method: All women with OCD in Hamadan formed the participants of this causal-comparative study. Using simple random sampling, 100 women with OCD and 100 healthy women were selected based on clinical interviews, diagnostic criteria for DSM-V, and questionnaires. Research instruments were maladaptive schemas (YSQ-SF), defense mechanisms (DSQ-40) and religious attitude (RAQ). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). It is worth noting that all ethical issues required were carefully observed and the authors declare no conflict of interest.Results: The results showed a significant difference between clinical and normal groups in terms of five areas of early maladaptive schemas, namely disconnection and rejection, dysfunction, impaired limits, other-directedness, subjugation, and inhibition), (P<0.05). Furthermore, the scores of defense styles (mature, immature and neurotic) as well as religious attitude have demonstrated a significant difference (P<0.05).Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of preventive interventions in psychological symptoms among neurotic patients and broaden the horizons of clinical interventions when it comes to religion.

Background and Objective: One of the main sources of tension and anxiety for the family is the crisis caused by the disease and hospitalization of the child. Today, attention to the emotional and spiritual needs of families in the care process has been known as one of the main priorities for improving pediatric care conditions. Understanding the religious behaviors of mothers during illness of children and hospitalization may help us to response their spiritual needs better. This study aimed to understand the experiences and perspectives of mothers from religious practices during child hospitalization at the hospital.Method: This qualitative research was conducted in Teaching Pediatric Hospital affiliated to Golestan University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The sampling was based on purposeful with maximum variation. Nineteen mothers of the hospitalized children were participated. Data saturation was the criteria for termination of sampling. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed according to conventional qualitative content analysis. All ethical issues were observed. Moreover, the authors did not report conflict of interest.Results: Analysis of data from the participants' experiences, leading to the formation of two main themes "Improving health-preserving" and "acceptance -compatibility" with sub-themes "achieve peace, hope, spiritual tolerance". Quran reading, muttering to God, prayer, praying were the spiritual behvaiours of mothers that were mentioned repeatedly in interviews.Conclusion: The results of the study showed that religious beliefs and religious behaviors can be an effective way to promote mental health in mothers of children admitted to hospital.

Background and Objective: University is considered a positive opportunity for personal development; however, students often face challenges when they are at university. Homesickness is among the most frequently reported concerns of dormitory students. This study aimed to investigate the relationship of self-esteem and spirituality to homesickness among dormitory students of Razi University in Kermanshah, Iran in 1395.Method: The study is descriptive and correlational. All female and male students who were living in dormitories of Razi University in school year of 94-95 formed the statistical population. 322 of them were selected based on Morgan table, using multi-stage cluster sampling. Research instruments were self-concept questionnaire (1976), spirituality questionnaire by Corp and Downing (2009), and homesickness questionnaire by Archer (1998). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation coefficient, and regression. In this study, all ethical issues were carefully observed and the authors declare no conflict of interest.Results: The results showed that there is a significant negative relationship between self-esteem and homesickness (p<.01); also spirituality and homesickness (p<.001). Data analysis also demonstrated that spirituality can predict the extent of homesickness among university students living in dormitories (p<.001).Conclusion: According to the findings of this research, spirituality and self-esteem can be perceived as complementary tools to reduce homesickness. It seems that when dealing with homesickness, these two variables should be taken into account.

Background and Objective: Spirituality has been reported as one of the most important factors in increasing happiness and general health. Given the fact that one of the factors in creating spiritual well-being is spiritual environment, this comparative study was designed to investigate the relation between spiritual well-being and happiness as well as general health of university and seminary students in Kerman, Iran.Method: The statistical population of this causal – comparative study consisted of all students at Shahid Bahonar University and seminaries of Kerman. From among the university students, 376 were selected by random cluster sampling and 274 seminary students were selected through access sampling. The measurement instruments were Spiritual Well-being Questionnaire (SWB), Oxford Happiness Inventory (AHQ) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28). The data were analyzed using multivariate regression, independent T-test, and Maan-Whiteney U test. In this study, all ethical issues were carefully observed and the authors have declared no conflict of interest.Results: Results showed that there was a significant and positive relationship between spiritual well-being, existential well-being and religious well-being (P<.001), but they have a significant and negative relationship to general health (P<.001). In addition, there was a significant difference between spiritual well-being and happiness among Shahid Bahonar and seminary students (P<.01); however, there weren't significant differences between them considering general health (P<0.05).Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate higher levels of spiritual well-being and happiness among seminary students, which confirms the effects of spirituality on these schools. Given that, steps should be taken to foster spiritual aspects.

Background and Objective: Reproductive behavior is one of the crucial factors in population fluctuations. Decrease in fertility rate in Iran with the increasing median age in recent years, along with the aging population and shrinking young workforce are among major challenges of the future. Given the significance of the subject, this study aimed to determine the relationship between religious attitudes and reproductive behavior of women who visited health centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences in Tehran 2016.Method: This cross-sectional study included all women who went to health centers of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. 200 of these women with inclusion criteria were selected via convenience sampling. A three-part questionnaire was used to collect data containing demographic information, religious attitudes, and reproductive behavior. To analyze the data, descriptive and analytical statistics were utilized. In this study, all the ethical issues were considered. Moreover, the authors declare no conflict of interest.Results: The results showed that the mean ±SD age of participants was 29.24±1.6 The mean ±SD number family size, number of children, age at marriage, duration of marriage, the time between the age at marriage and the first pregnancy were 3.16±0.79, 1.8±0.78, 8.5±5.9 years; 24.74±24.79 months; and 21.02±4.47 years, respectively. The results also demonstrated that the level of religious attitudes was good in majority of samples (67.5%). Analysis of variance indicated a significant relationship between different levels of religious attitude and reproductive behavior.Conclusion: The findings of this study further corroborate the importance of religion in the reproductive behavior of people. It is recommended that when running educational programs, counseling be done in order to promote reproductive behavior. Besides, special attention should be given to the religious beliefs of individuals to foster these two important factors.

Background and Objective: Spiritual well-being is one of the fundamental concepts in chronic diseases and is considered an important approach to improve public health among individuals. Given the importance of spiritual well-being and its role in the promotion of mental health, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating spiritual well-being and mental health in patients with breast cancer who visited a center for cancer control at the University of Medical Sciences.Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 122 patients with breast cancer in 2015. The data were collected through self-administered 20-item Paloutzian & Ellison’s Spiritual Well-Being Scale and a 28-item questionnaire of mental health after determining their validity and reliability. The collected data were then analyzed using ANOVA and Pearson correlation and linear regression.Results: The results show that most patients had moderate spiritual health (37.8%), and most of them suffered mild mental health problems. (50 percent). Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between mental health and demographic characteristics (Marital status, education, income, physical activity). There was also a significant relationship between mental health and spiritual health.Conclusion: According to the findings, to prevent mental suffering among patients with breast cancer, promoting spiritual health of patients should be regarded as one of the priorities of health care professionals.

Background and Objective: Olive (Olea europaea), a species in the family of Oleaceae, is one of the fruits that grows in the Mediterranean region, central Asia and some parts of Africa. Annual production of this fruit is about 17.4 million tons in the world. With scientific development in various fields in recent years, new medical and nutritional properties of olive have been discovered. It was found that many of demonstrated properties of this fruit in modern science have already been pointed out in the Quran, narrations and hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and Imams (AS). Olive generally is effective in the treatment of stomach ulcers and other gastrointestinal diseases, hypertension, asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, bone fractures and osteoporosis, cutaneous diseases, stimulation of urination, prevention of hair loss and reduction of inflammation and fever.Method: In this study, medical properties of olive were investigated in the Quran, hadiths, traditional medicine as well as recent scientific researches (2000 - 2016). All ethical issues were observed. Moreover, the authors did not report conflict of interest.Results: Along with the recommendations of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad (s), Imams and traditional medicine about the consumption of olive, findings of recent studies also indicate that this fruit is effective in the prevention of cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancers of colon, skin, prostate, breast, uterine and ovarian, diabetes, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and neurodegenerative diseases such as Down syndrome. Anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and antioxidant properties also reported for olive.Conclusion: The findings of this research can be an effective step confirming the scientific aspects of the Quran and narratives of the Prophet Muhammad (S) and Imams (AS), especially in the case of fruits like olive.

Background and Objective: Mankind as one of the most complex creatures has been the subject of many sciences. One of the sciences that consider growth and health parameters of body and circumstances of its activities is “physiology”. Also, there is a considerable amount of information about this topic in Islamic religious sciences and various sources, including the Quran and religious books of saints and religious leaders who have many things to say about this topic. The main objective of this study was to get a comprehensive view of the compatibility of science and religion.Method: In this study, comparison and analysis of content as well as library research were used. Various books related to fields of Islamic sciences and books on the field of physiology and medical and religious papers were examined. In this study, all the ethical issues were considered. Moreover, the authors declare no conflict of interest.Results: Findings showed that many of the cases related to field of physiology and medicine are stated in the complete religion of Islam by religious leaders, especially the Imams who have divine knowledge and they corroborate the science of the day.Conclusion: Comparative discussion around the physiology science in both religion and experimental sciences leads us to the conclusion that the religion as a source establishes doctrines, matches experimental science, and has a lot to share. This brings us to the relation between science and religion. There is no sharp contrast between these two categories and the relationship between science and religion is confirmed. It is also concluded that religious beliefs are effective in the medical physiology and experimental sciences. Consequently, steps must be taken to hold them together.