Health, Spirituality and Medical Ethics
Year:2017 | Volume:4 | Issue:1|Papers Count:7

Background and Objectives: Study of clinical competence in nursing helps determine the quality of health care delivered to patients. Given the priority of observance of principles over caretaking and necessity of spirituality existence at the core of health care provision, this study was conducted to investigate clinical competence and its relationship with professional ethics and spiritual health in nurses. Methods: In this cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study, 281 nurses were enrolled by consensus sampling. Sampling was conducted from February, 2016 till June, 2016. The data were gathered by a demographics questionnaire, a self-assessment scale of clinical competence, a nursing ethics questionnaire, and a spiritual health questionnaire, and analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and linear regression analysis in SPSS 21. Results: The total scores for self-assessment scale of nurses' clinical competence, professional ethics, and spiritual health were moderate. In the light of the results of Spearman's correlation coefficient, there was a significant and positive correlation between clinical competence and spiritual health. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between professional ethics and spiritual health but there was no correlation between professional ethics and clinical competence. Conclusion: Managers' and personnel's Knowledge about the level of nurses clinical competence, professional ethics, and spiritual health in teaching health care centers provides valuable information to develop in-service and efficacious education programs and ultimately to improve the quality of nursing services.

Background and Objectives: Patients are oriented towards spirituality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The aim of this study was to explore the patients’ spiritual experiences after CABG. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using hermeneutic phenomenology. 11 participants (7 males and 4 females) were interviewed in Tehran Heart Center Hospital in 2013 using maximum variation along with purposive sampling methods. The interviews were recorded and then converted to texts word for word. The texts were analyzed using van Manen six-step method. Results: The main theme of the contents which were experienced by the participants was spirituality and its sub contents were: trust in God, Supplicating to the Prophet and Imams, and accepting the will of God. Conclusion: The findings showed that the participants who had undergone surgery on coronary artery bypass grafting had a rise in spirituality. They took advantage of spirituality to handle their problems. Using the research findings, members of the treatment team, especially nurses, can use this study to advance care planning and to train patients and their families better.

Background and Objectives: Quality of working life (QWL) is an important issue and examination of the spects that can affect it causes promotion of individual and organizational productivity. This study was conducted to investigate correlation between health correlates and the QWL in the emloyees of the Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch. Methods: This descriptive-correlational study with regression analysis was conducted on 130 nonteaching employees of the Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch selected by convenience sampling with reference to the number of the studied variables (spiritual, physical, mental, social, and environmental health). The participants filled out demographic, health-promoting behaviors, and QWL questionnaires. Data were analyzed by SPSS using descriptive and inferential statistical tests especially multivariate regression. Results: Among health components, physical health (r=0. 55) and mental health (r=0. 50) had the highest correlation with total QWL score. The amount of explained variance in criterion variable (QWL) by the regression model was 40%. Table of coefficients demonstrated that the scores for mental health and spiritual health had greater contribution in the model than other health aspects. Physical health, psychological health, spiritual health, and environmental health explained 29%, 45%, 37%, and 21% variance in QWL, respectively. Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated positive correlation between health aspects and QWL. Because the university employees spend a great deal of time at work and the quality of their work affects the entire organization, this finding can be useful to guide policy-makers and health experts in developing preventive and intervention programs in the future for promotion of the employees' health and organization.

Background and Objectives: Breast Cancer is the most common malignancy and is the second leading cause of mortality due to cancer in women. One of the important psychological factors in these patients is death anxiety. Given the role of religious orientation to this psychological factor, this study was conducted to investigate the relationship between religious orientat ion and death anxiety in patients with breast cancer in Kermanshah. Methods: In this cross-sectional study on 48 patients with breast cancer referred to the Oncology Department of Imam Reza (PBUH) Hospital. Templer Death Anxiety Scale and Allport Religious Orientation Scale were used to gather data and the data analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests in SPSS 22. Results: The highest and lowest scores of religious orientation in these patients were 76 and 48, with mean score 65. 31. The highest and lowest death anxiety scores attained by these patients were 14 (8. 3%) and 2 (10. 4%), and 72. 9% of the patients had high levels of death anxiety. Religious orientation and death anxiety were significantly correlated (correlation coefficient: 0. 508), and age was significantly correlated with death anxiety but not with religious orientation. Conclusion: Given the findings of the present study, it cannot be definitely argued that religious orientation and death anxiety are correlated in cancer patients. Therefore, this issue should be further investigated.

Background and Objectives: Admission to university is considered an opportunity to learn more and mentally grow further. At the same time, it is considered a stressor by some students and causes maladaptive reactions in them. This study was conducted to investigate the association between social adjustment and spiritual health in university students. Methods: Two hundred and fifty students were enrolled in this descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study according to random, systematic sampling. The used instruments were Bell Adjustment Inventory, consisting of 32 items, with 89% reliability coefficient and Paloutzian & Ellison Spiritual Well-Being Scale, consisting of 20 items, with validity and reliability of 79% and 82%, respectively. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and univariate and multivariate linear regression in SPSS 16. Results: Women comprised 50. 2% of the participants. The mean (SD) age of the participants was 21. 72 (5. 02) and only 18. 4% were married. Social adjustment was significantly correlated with total score of spiritual health and scores of the subscales religious health and existential health (P<0. 001). Conclusion: Because social adjustment was moderate among Qom University of Medical Sciences students, and in the light of the association between spiritual health and social adjustment, group and individual counseling services can be delivered to students with low levels of social adjustment in universities to help them improve their social and spiritual health.

Background and Objectives: Mental health is one of the most important components of healthy life. Culture, particularly religious orientation, is one of the factors whose role in promoting mental health is increasingly being emphasized. The aim of this study was to investigate correlation between religious orientation and mental health among the staff of Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) of Asalouyeh using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Methods: The study population of this descriptive-correlational study consisted of all staff of PSEEZ. Of this population, 388 administrative staff were selected by random, cluster, multistage sampling to be study samples. To collect data, General Health Questionnaire and Religious Orientation Questionnaire were used. To investigate correlation between the studied variables, Pearson correlation coefficient was used. To investigate correlation between religious orientation and mental health among the staff, the SEM was used. Results: Religious orientation and mental health were significantly correlated according to the SEM. Beliefs and rituals, and morality collectively explained 18% of variations in mental health. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that beliefs and rituals, and morality could be significant predictors of mental health, i. e. those who adhere to religious beliefs and practices and observe religious ethics have lower levels of anxiety and depression. Such people are therefore more capable of improving their relationships and interactions and have higher levels of mental health.

Background and Objectives: Self-confidence, referring to relying on and exploiting individual abilities and talents for realizing spiritual and material prosperity, not only contradicts but is in agreement with and a prerequisite for faith in God. Practically, the greater faith in God one has, the more potent self-confidence he /she possess. Investigating the subject of self-confidence from the perspectives of Quran, Ahadith and psychology, this study explores the meaning of self (soul) in self-confidence and its levels, the prerequisites for development and enhancement of self-confidence, the association of self-concept and self-esteem with selfconfidence, and the approaches to develop and enhance positive self-concept as well as to boost self-confidence. Methods: The data of this descriptive review article were gathered from library and digital references. Results: Although it appears that self-confidence contradicts Islamic teachings, it can be clearly understood that this teaching subject is confirmed and emphasized in Islamic teachings by discovery of its true meaning. Conclusion: If having self-confidence is meant to rely on and exploiting individual abilities and talents to reach material and spiritual prosperity, it not only does not contradict but is in agreement with and a prerequisite for faith in God. Self in self-confidence indeed means human as a combination of the body and the spirit which is fully consistent with indices of self-confidence. According to psychologists, improving self-esteem and positive self-concept affects self-confidence directly. From perspective of religion, paying attention to venerability and God-given dignity of human, recognizing the superb purpose in life, etc. are approaches to develop and enhance positive self-concept and self-esteem, and to boost self-confidence.