Associations Between Religious/Spiritual Practices and Well-Being in Indian Elderly Rural Women

Religious Beliefs Shaping Health Care and Transforming Health Concepts: The Case of Shanghai

This study examines the connection between health and religious beliefs in modern Chinese society and builds a model reimagining the conception of health. The study draws on interviews with 108 patients (52 were women and 56 were men) at Huashan Hospital (Shanghai City, China). The survey ran between May 10 and May 14, 2021. More than 50% of female and male respondents reported having religious beliefs. Most acknowledged the crucial role of faith and religious beliefs in overcoming treatment challenges and alleviating patient suffering. The role of faith and religious beliefs in physical/mental treatment and health maintenance received the highest average percent positive score among female respondents. According to the multiple regression results of demographic parameters (age, ethnicity, gender, education, and urban or rural residence), only gender had a statistically significant effect on the impact of religious beliefs on health care attitudes. The proposed model builds on the Confucian concept of Ren (humanity), which refers to a harmonious relationship between people within a family or society bound by specific rules. The results of this study can help expand awareness about religion and its role in healthcare as a means to support patients' spiritual and physical health.

Personal wellbeing among adolescents and youth in India

This study sought to explore the level of personal wellbeing and identified the determinants of happiness among Indian adolescents and youth. Data were collected from a sample of 495 participants (aged 11–23 years) residing in the National Capital Region of Delhi (Delhi-NCR), using the bilingual version (Hindi and English) of the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI). Their PWI score was 80.06, indicating high happiness levels in the nonwestern normative PWI range. Domains of personal relationships, community connectedness, and safety represented high overall wellbeing with the highest mean scores. Multivariate analysis showed that the least happy group on life as a whole domain was students aged 19–23 years as compared with the 11–14 and 15–18 years age group. Furthermore, men had higher happiness levels on personal safety, while women had higher scores on life achievement. The qualitative analysis illustrated the socio-cultural basis of these wellbeing determinants as rooted in the hierarchical social structures and collectivistic cultural orientation.

An Exploratory Study on Subjective Perceptions of Happiness From India

The present study aimed at understanding the subjective perception of happiness in a sample of Indian participants from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Using convenience sampling, individual interviews were conducted with 60 participants aged between 19 to 73 years (M Age = 40 years). This study employed reflexive thematic analysis to analyse the written transcripts. Nine themes were generated which captured the essence of happiness for Indians—Feelings and Expressions of Happiness; Human Ties and Happiness which encompassed four sub-themes—family bond, the company one keeps, the pandemic and social disengagement, and the nation, society and happiness; Satisfaction with Material Needs and Resources; Lifestyle and Health; Work and Play; Accomplishment and Appreciation; Nature Connectedness; Religious and Spiritual beliefs; and Happiness as a Personal responsibility—Role of Positive Personality Traits. These findings revealed our respondent's multidimensional conceptualization of happiness, and adds to the growing body of happiness literature from the South Asian context.

Examining Cultural, Ethnic, and Religious Differences with the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness and Spirituality in the U.S. and India

The Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (BMMRS) is regularly used to measure spirituality and religiosity in U.S. Christian populations, although it has not been used for making comparisons with non-Western groups. This study compared BMMRS results for 109 individuals (60 in the U.S. and 49 in India) with traumatic brain injury (TBI) from different cultures (U.S., India), ethnic groups (African American, Caucasian, South Asian), and religions (Christian, Hindu, Muslim). In general, the results indicated that U.S. African Americans and Christians reported being the most spiritual, South Asians and Hindus the least. Groups differed significantly in self-reported spiritual experiences, but less in frequency of religious activities. Results suggest using caution when applying Western-based measures of religion and spirituality in non-Western, non-Christian populations.

The architecture of the primary mental healthcare system for older people in India: what public policies tell us

Background

Old age mental healthcare is an issue that cuts across old age, general health, and mental healthcare policies. While strengthening the primary mental healthcare system in India is a common strategy across policy fields to improve the mental health of older persons, very little is known about the system’s planned architecture. This study explores public policy strategies for and approaches to the mental health of older persons, focusing on the primary healthcare (PHC) level and the role of the family.

Methods

A document analysis of 39 key public national policy documents (2007 – 2019) from three thematically grouped policy fields (mental health, old age, and general health) was conducted.

Results

Comprehensive community-based primary mental healthcare – focusing on vulnerable population groups including older persons – has been strengthened significantly since 2007. The promulgated approaches and strategies build on traditional community-based approaches to mental healthcare in India. They focus on (a) integrating community health workers into primary mental healthcare, (b) empowering the community to participate in healthcare planning, implementation, and monitoring, (c) supporting the family through a family-led approach to mental healthcare, and (d) integrating traditional Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homeopathy (AYUSH) services into primary mental healthcare.

Conclusions

While all policy fields address mental PHC, they do so in different ways, and approaches and strategies that promote an integrated perspective across policy fields are lacking. To realize the policies vision, strengthening PHC will be essential. Further research should evaluate strategies and approaches in light of social developments, such as eroding family norms and the poor state of the public health system in India, in order to assess their opportunities, challenges, and overall feasibility, with the benefits older people would experience taking centre stage in these inquiries.

Religion and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Positive Virtues

Researchers have consistently advocated positive associations between religion and well-being. The present research takes a step forward and explores potential mechanisms behind the same. The mediating role of a surprisingly neglected mechanism, positive virtues, specifically gratitude, forgiveness and altruism, is studied through a quantitative study on a sample of 220 adult respondents residing in Delhi NCR. The participants adhered to one of the six major religions present in India. Mediational analysis revealed that gratitude mediated the relationship between religiosity, spirituality and well-being via two pathways of forgiveness and altruism. The implications for researchers and practitioners working in the field of mental health are discussed.