The Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Quality of Life Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

The Association Between Religious Belief and Postoperative Psychological Status and Quality of Life of Parents of Children with Congenital Heart Disease: A Single Center Experience in Southeast China

This study aimed to investigate the association of religious belief on the postoperative psychological status and quality of life of parents of children with congenital heart disease (CHD). This was a cross-sectional study conducted at a provincial children's hospital in Fujian Province, China. Parents of postoperative children with CHD in the early postoperative period were included in this study between January 2020 and September 2020. The parents were divided into a religious belief group (n = 39) and a nonreligious belief group (n = 42) depending on whether they had religious beliefs. The Religious Coping Questionnaire, WHOQOL-BREF scale, Self-rating depression scale (SDS), and Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) were used to evaluate psychological status and quality of life. The results showed that the SDS and SAS scores in the religious belief group were significantly lower than those in the nonreligious belief group (P = 0.012 and P = 0.003, respectively). The WHOQOL-BREF scale results showed that the religious belief group's score was significantly higher than those in the nonreligious belief group on the subscale scores of physiology, psychology, social relations, and environment on the WHOQOL-BREF. The total score of quality of life in the religious belief group was significantly higher than that in the nonreligious belief group. Religious belief was associated with lower SDS score (β = - 0.324, P = 0.005) and SAS score (β = - 0.245, P = 0.026), while religious belief was positively correlated with the score of WHOQOL-BREF (β = 0.506, P < 0.001). In this study, we concluded that comparing to those with no religious beliefs, parents with religious belief experienced more positive emotions and higher quality of life when taking care of children in the early postoperative period after congenital heart surgery.

Factors Associated With Hope and Quality of Life in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease

BACKGROUND

Psychological resources such as hope have been suggested to affect quality of life (QoL) positively in patients with heart disease. However, little information regarding the relationship between these two constructs is available.

PURPOSE

This work was aimed at examining the factors associated with hope and QoL in patients with coronary artery disease.

METHODS

In this descriptive work, perceived QoL and hope were assessed in 500 patients with heart disease. The information was collected using the McGill QoL Questionnaire, demographic variables, and the Herth Hope Index. The Pearson correlation test and general linear model were used to examine correlations through SPSS Version 22.

RESULTS

A considerable correlation was discovered between QoL and hope (r = .337, p < .001). Multivariate analyses with regression revealed that religious beliefs and social support both had significant and positive effects on the total perceived hope of patients and that patient age had a considerable negative impact on QoL (p < .05). None of these factors had a significant impact on hope (p < .05). In addition, the total QoL had a significant and positive effect on patient feelings and thoughts, whereas the physical problems component of QoL had a significant and negative effect on hope (p < .05). Participants with higher levels of education reported more hope.

CONCLUSIONS

QoL relates significantly to self-perceived hope in patients. Understanding QoL and hopefulness in patients with coronary artery disease has implications for nurses and other healthcare professionals.

Adaptation of patients diagnosed with human papillomavirus: a grounded theory study

Background

Human papillomavirus is the most common cause of sexually transmitted diseases. Various studies report that positive human papillomavirus diagnosis results in psychosexual issues for the infected and reduces their quality of life. However, the adaptation of the infected has not been addressed yet. The present study aims to identify the process by which individuals infected with human papillomavirus adapt to their disease.

Method

This is a qualitative work of research with a grounded theory design. The setting of the study was the skin clinic of Shahid Faghihi Hospital in Shiraz. The participants consisted of 27 individuals: 18 patients, 3 doctors, 2 counselors, and 4 spouses of patients. The subjects were selected via purposeful and theoretical sampling method until data saturation was reached. Data were collected through face-to-face, in-depth, semi-structured interviews from April 2019 to December 2020. The collected data were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss’s method (2015) and MAXQDA 2018.

Results

The theory which emerged from the data was “trying to maintain resilience in the absence of psychological security.” Analysis of data showed the main concern of participants in adapting to their diagnosis with human papillomavirus was “life stress”. “Stigma and ignorance” was found to be a contextual condition and “paradox in support” was an intervening condition in the patients’ adaptation. The patients’ action/interaction responses to their main concern in the context in question were “emotional confrontation” and “maintaining resilience.” The outcome was “oscillation between tension and tranquility.”

Conclusion

The present study explains the process by which patients with human papillomavirus adapt to their condition. Identification of the concerns of patients with human papillomavirus and the factors which affect their adaptation can help healthcare policy-makers and providers develop effective support plans in order to increase patients’ quality of life. Early interventions, e.g. counseling care providers to modify their behaviors toward alleviating the psychosexual tension of the infected, can facilitate the adaptation of the infected and decrease the consequences of the infection for them.

Graphical Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause of sexually transmitted diseases. Almost all men and women get the infection at least once throughout their lives. The high-risk types of HPV account for about 5% of cancer cases globally. HPV can cause anogenital cancers and warts in both genders. In this grounded theory study, we conducted 27 in-depth interviews with Iranian patients, their spouses, and health care providers from April 2019 to December 2020. The collected data were analyzed using Corbin and Strauss’s method (2015) and MAXQDA 2018. The participants were concerned about tension in family relationships, being stigmatized, getting cancer, recurrence of warts, transferring their disease to others, and changes in the appearance of their genitalia. They stated that HPV is regarded as a shameful disease in society. Most of the participants said they had never heard anything about HPV. The patients’ action/interaction responses to their concerns were “emotional confrontation” and “maintaining resilience.” These strategies helped the patients recover some of their tranquility. However, some of patients’ concerns were persistent and kept them oscillating between tension and tranquility. An understanding of the patients’ perception of their disease is essential to development of effective educational interventions to change patients’ perspective on their situation and improve their recovery. Furthermore, because of the low level of public awareness about HPV and sexual health and the flow of misinformation to the infected, it is recommended that educational interventions focus on the patients’ concerns.

Explaining the facilitators of quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis: a qualitative study

Background

In patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease’s complications and manifestations affect a person’s ability to function normally and leads to further disruptions in their education, family life, job opportunities, and daily life activities, thereby reduce their quality of life. Different factors as facilitators or inhibitors affect the quality of life in patients with MS. This study aimed to explain the facilitators of quality of life in patients with MS.

Methods

This research applied qualitative methodology, utilizing semi-structured interviews with individuals with MS and their family members/caregivers. Purposeful sampling was done among people who referred to Isfahan MS Association. Participants were selected with a maximum variation in terms of gender, age, education, occupation and marital status. Interviews were continued to reach data saturation. The gathered data were concurrently analyzed by the content analysis technique. MAXQDA software version 10 was used for data management.

Results

Saturation was reached after eighteen interviews. A total of three main categories and 8 sub-categories were extracted from the data. The identified facilitators were: personal facilitators (leisure time and coping strategies), interpersonal facilitators (exercise therapy, social support and social organizations) and needs and suggestions for improvement (family therapy, adopting urban architecture and facilities, and supportive systems).

Conclusions

Based on these findings, in order to improve the quality of life in patients with MS, we should pay attention to factors such as leisure time, spirituality and positive thinking, exercise, social support and social organizations. Health professionals, the government, community and families could help to improve patients’ quality of life through adapting urban architecture, holding family therapy sessions and providing supportive systems.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12883-021-02213-9.

The Process of Promoting Spiritual Health in Iranian Muslim Adults: A Grounded Theory

Background:

Spiritual health is a complex concept and it is important to review its promotion and evolution from a Muslim point of view in Iran. So, the present study was designed to explore the process of spiritual health promotion among Iranian Muslims.

Materials and Methods:

This study is a grounded theory in which the continuous comparative analysis method Strauss & Corbin (1998) was used to analyze data. This study's sampling method was purposive in trying to select participants with the maximum variation.

Results:

The “striving effort to promote spiritual health” was the core category which was the participants' strategy of the participants to confront their main concern, “to achieve transcendence”. The essential spiritual process in this study was “the journey in the transcendence path”. People would find the purpose and meaning of life by interconnecting and relying on their inner forces, and by establishing the moderation between the dimensions of existence. In this way, individuals will become closer to human perfection with the help of these components. They will achieve immersive wellbeing and moral maturity through the consolidation of spiritual health. Such a person lives to serve among the people.

Conclusions:

Adult promotion of spiritual health is dynamic and complex. The main process in this path is spiritual growth, which begins and continues as a result of the striving to advance spiritual health and refinement. Considering these findings has become a concern for holistic care within the scope of nursing care.

The relationship between spiritual well-being and hope, and adherence to treatment regimen in patients with diabetes

Background

Adherence to treatment regimen is one of the behaviors related to diabetes, which has predicted successful control of the disease and reduced its intensity as well as negative consequences. This study aimed to determine the relationship between spiritual well-being and hope, and adherence to treatment regimen in patients with type II diabetes referred to diabetes clinics.

Methods

In this descriptive-correlational study, 227 diabetic patients referred to healthcare centers and diabetes clinics affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were selected via cluster sampling (clinics) followed by convenience sampling (patients). The study data were collected using a demographic information form, spiritual well-being scale developed by Ellison and Paloutzian, Herth hope scale, and adherence to treatment regimen questionnaire. Then, the data were entered into the statistical software and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results

The results indicated that most participants had moderate spiritual well-being, high hope, and low adherence to treatment regimen. Additionally, spiritual well-being was directly associated with hope and reversely related to adherence to treatment. A significant reverse correlation was also observed between hope and adherence to treatment.

Conclusion

Considering the fact that spiritual well-being and hope were reversely associated with adherence to treatment regimen, further studies should be done in this field. Also patients' image of God and their interpretations of being sick might not be appropriate and need correction.

Roles of Religious Commitment, Emotion Regulation and Social Support in Preoperative Anxiety

Surgery is a relatively commonplace medical procedure in healthcare settings. The mental health status of the person undergoing surgery is vital, but there is dearth of empirical studies on the mental health status of surgery patients, particularly with regard to the factors associated with anxiety in surgical conditions. This study investigated the roles of religious commitment, emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and social support in preoperative anxiety in a sample of 210 surgical inpatients from a Nigerian tertiary healthcare institution. A cross-sectional design was adopted. Before the surgery, respondents completed the state anxiety subscale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Religious Commitment Inventory, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. After controlling for relevant demographic factors, regression results showed that cognitive reappraisal, social support and interpersonal religious commitment were negatively associated with preoperative anxiety, while expressive suppression was positively associated with preoperative anxiety. The emotion regulation strategies made robust and significant explanation of variance in preoperative anxiety. Appropriate interventions to promote interpersonal religious commitment, encourage cognitive reappraisal and enhance social support quality may improve mental health outcomes in surgery.

Perceptions and factors influencing the intention to do regular physical activities for the prevention of osteoporosis among Iranian working women

Purpose

Osteoporosis is a metabolic bone disease and a growing global health problem. It is estimated that about 200m people are suffering from this disease in the world. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions and factors influencing the intention to do regular physical activities in order to prevent osteoporosis in Iranian Muslim working women.

Design/methodology/approach

The present cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 217 women employed in a university in Iran. The tool for data collection was a researcher-made questionnaire that had gone through validity and reliability processes. The data analysis was done using SPSS ver. 19 software as well as statistical descriptive and analytical tests.

Findings

The majority of participants were aged 30–39 (50.7 percent) and the least ones were 40 years old (24.4 percent). In total, 67.7 percent of the participants were married. Also, 77 percent of the participants had religious belief on the duty to do strong physical activities, and 83 percent had intention to do physical activities. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the mean scores of self-efficacy and the mean scores of religious belief between the women with and without having intention to do physical activities (p<0.01).

Originality/value

Regarding the relationship that self-efficacy and religious belief had with the intention to do physical activities in women employees, the need to address this issue through educational programming with the focus on self-efficacy and religious culture seems to find priority.