RELIGION AND HEALTH
Year:2019 | Volume:6 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:8

Background and Purpose: In recent years, it has been shown that therapies and interventions that use spiritual techniques play an important role in the mental relaxation of patients with chronic illnesses. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of stress management training with Iranian-Islamic spiritual therapy on the severity of pain in women with Fibromyalgia. Materials and Methods: This study was carried out in a quasi-experimental design, which involved the analysis of the experimental and control groups in three stages of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up. The population of the study consisted of 30 women with fibromyalgia, who were randomly assigned into the experimental group (n=15) and control group (n=15). The experimental group took part in a 12-session educational program related to stress management with Iranian-Islamic spiritual therapy once a week. However, control group received no intervention. All participants completed the Brief Pain Inventory in three stages of the baseline, after implementation of Iranian-Islamic spiritual therapy, and the follow-up stages. Results: The results of repeated measures ANOVA showed that stress-management program with Iranian-Islamic spiritual therapy after intervention and follow-up stages (45 days after baseline measurement) had a significant effect on the reduction of the pain intensity, as well as the sensory and reactive dimensions of pain (P<0. 01). Conclusion: The obtained results of the study revealed that stress management training with Iranian-Islamic spiritual therapy can be an effective method for decreasing the severity of pain in women with fibromyalgia.

Background and Purpose: Research has shown that attending congregational prayer has constructive effects on spiritual guidance and mental relaxation of humans. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effective factors in the presence of university students attending congregational prayers of Masjid-Al-Nabi at Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran. Moreover, this study aimed to propose influential approaches to encourage participation in congregational prayer. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on students studying at Payambar Aazam Complex of Mazandaran University of medical science, during 2016. A total number of 500 students were selected randomly out of 4000 students of this university. The data were collected using a questionnaire, which included demographic information and effecting factor on congregational prayer. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed and data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 20). Results: The survey showed that there was a significant relationship between the investigated variables (including family factors, friendship tendency, participation of authorities and teachers, coincidence of prayer and class time, personal motivation and education level) and the presence of students in congregational prayer. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, supporting students, adjustment of class time, and attendance of the instructors at the mosque will encourage students to participate in congregational prayer. University authorities can appropriately prepare the ground for the presence of students in congregational prayer.

The embryonic development is one of the most important and delicate stages in human life. The mysteries and marvels of this intricate development have perplexed everyone. Muslim physicians and scholars of traditional Iranian medicine have explained these phases based on their accepted principles. The etiology of several fetal abnormalities could be described by understanding the processes involved in embryonic development. The aim of this study was to investigate the fetal development based on Iranian traditional medicine and religious studies with an emphasis on "Quwa" as one of the effective factors in this regard. This study was conducted based on a qualitative (content analysis) research design focusing on Iranian traditional medicine and religious texts. The notes and data were taken, collected, and classified. The forces (Quwa) which play important roles during the embryonic development process are classified as vital, psychic, and natural. There are two forces, namely productive, and shaper (Muwallida and Muṣ awira) that are effective in the survival of generations. They are derived from a natural force whose origin is the liver. The role of the productive force is the production of semen and the shaper force formats the organs. The role of these forces in the embryonic development process can be defined meticulously based on the holistic point of view of Muslim physicians and scholars of traditional Iranian medicine. In addition, the amazing results that embryology and genetics have achieved can be taken into consideration to reinforce these forces in order to prevent some embryonic abnormalities.

Background and Purpose: Citation analysis of the articles in a journal is a method for the investigation of the validity and authenticity of the scientific articles of a journal. The present research was conducted to analyze the citations of the articles published in the Journal of Religion and Health during 2013-2017 to present the first evaluation of the scientific production of this journal. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 9 issues of the Journal of Religion and Health. A total of 76 articles and 2, 490 references were investigated in this study. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics indices, including frequency and frequency percentage, in SPSS software, version 20. Results: The results showed that the most frequent citations (30. 2%) were obtained from the information sources published during 2012-2008. In this regard, the Qur'an obtained the fourth citation rank after English articles and Persian resources (i. e., articles and books). The highest rates of author participation were detected in the fields of psychology (14. 7%), Islamic education (9. 5%), and education (7. 8%). Most of the published articles (84. 2%) were original research. Conclusion: According to the findings, the inclusion of original research, high rate of articles from other universities, and regular publication are among the advantages of the journal under study. However, the high proportion of the articles related to the fields other than Islamic and medical sciences, low share of short communication papers, and low citation number of the articles published in the journal are among the issues that should be considered in this journal.

This study aimed to design and prepare a kind of religious-based intervention model called "from Ghalbe Salim (pure heart) to Ghalbe Salem (healthy heart)" in order to decrease stress, anxiety, and depression in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients. The CABG patients undergo a lot of stress, anxiety, and depression after bypass surgery. Various interventions, including medications and common psychological therapies, were used to decrease these disorders in patients. In this study, what seemed to be a kind of innovation was to design and prepare a religious-based intervention for treating and reducing such disorders in CABG patients. A prefound review of Islamic and Quran texts showed that an intervention model based on Ghalbe Salim (pure heart) could help these patients to overcome their stress, anxiety, and dpression and consequently have shorter convalescence periods and healthier hearts. The study was carried out by reviewing Islamic and Quran texts about Ghalbe salim that was supposed to be the prerequisite for a healthy heart. In fact, the important factors that had a role in initiation, persistence, and treatment of the disease were investigated in Islamic and Quran teachings, as well as scientific texts. Then a theoritical model called "from Ghalbe Salim to Ghalbe Salem" was proposed. Finally, a special kind of religious-based intervention was presented in order to decrease stress, anxiety, and depression for coronary artery bypass graft patients in the present study.

Background and Purpose: This study aimed to determine the relationship between the quality of educational experience and academic achievement in Islamic teaching lessons in Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, the Zanjan, Iran, during the academic year of 2015-2016. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on undergraduate and postgraduate students of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences in the academic year of 1395-1396. The sample size was determined as 315 subjects by Cochran method. The study population was selected through stratified sampling. The data were collected using Alport’ s training experience and religious orientation questionnaire. In addition, the scores of students in Islamic teaching were used as a criterion for student achievement. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression tests in SPSS software (version 22). Results: The obtained results revealed that the experience of the course (total score) and the components of proper assignment, proper teaching, and emphasis on autonomy correlated with internal and external religious orientation (P=0. 001). In addition, the experience of the course (total score) and the components of proper assignments, proper teaching, proper assessment, and general skills had a relationship with the academic achievement of the students in Islamic teaching lessons. Regression test results also showed that the experience of the course (total score) and the components of proper teaching, proper assignments and emphasis on independence can explain religious orientation. In addition, the experience of the course, proper teaching, proper assignments, and proper assessment could also explain academic achievement in Islamic teaching lessons. Conclusion: The students’ satisfactory experience of the course plays a role in religious orientation and academic achievement of the students.

This research was targeted toward the analysis of the monotheistic approach of Prophet Mohammad to the nature of illness in order to define the basics and principles of this approach and its effects on patient’ s psych and therapeutic process. This paper aims to present a pattern for the promotion of patients’ spirituality and utilization of the illness as an optimal opportunity to help the therapeutic process. This is a concept analysis. The results of this study showed that the Prophet Mohammad had adopted a monotheistic approach to the illness that is attributable to the will of Allah. Allah causes the diseases to purify and promote human beings. The illness draws human attention to the instability of the world and causes human beings to do good deeds in the worldly life in order to earn reward in the hereafter. Therefore, the believers tolerate the illness with the hope of Allah’ s reward. Finally, the believers become different from the unbelievers in two aspects: (a) the believers recover from the disease and gain greater faith and purity than unbelievers and (b) they do not recover and die like the unbelievers. However, the believers receive the divine blessings. As stated in the prophetic narrations, the believers must not ask for the disease from Allah, but they should try to recover from the disease. If they get sick, they should follow the above-mentioned approach. The obtained data of this paper can be used not only for spiritual growth in the event of disease but also for the recovery and pain relief.

One of the medical teachings in Islamic texts is hair care guide. The Islamic scholars and jurisprudents devoted some chapters of their books to the hair and skin disorders followed by treatments. This study presents six important strategies which are of significant importance concerning skin and hair care. The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions of hair care guidelines and interpretation of Islamic strategies in this regard with an emphasis on medical narrative and concurrent adaption to medical sciences. The present study was conducted base on a documentary and conceptual analysis design. In this regard, hadiths concerning hair care were extracted from authentic books of hadith, such as al-Kafi, Wasa'il-al-Shi'a, Mustadrak al-Wasa'il. Subsequently, weak narratives and reliable narrations were eliminated and identified, respectively. To this end, the dimensions and different aspects of health care were analyzed. According to the results obtained from findings on medical hadiths, there are correlations between different aspects of hair care, such as cleaning, taking showers, dressing, shortening the hair, and brushing and general health direction and spiritual interventions. Islamic approaches to health care can be effective in skin and hair treatments leading to the reduction of medical expenses and the promotion of general health.