Belief in God is common and tied to mental health and illness in the general population. Researchers at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, in Belmont, Massachusetts, studied its relevance to psychiatric patients.
It’s reported that 55% of patients with ovarian cancer acknowledge a fear of dying, and 32% experience loss of hope in their fight against this illness. Researchers at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, examined CAM and its influence on hopelessness in these patients.
It’s reported that the personal importance of religion or spirituality is associated with a lower risk for major depression. Researchers at Columbia University, in New York City, examined this association in adults.
Standard therapies are of limited value for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Researchers at Swinburne University of Technology, in Australia, reviewed the value of CAM, self-help techniques, and lifestyle interventions.
Researchers in Massachusetts and Virginia updated changes in this coping tool between 2002 and 2007.
Researchers at Columbia University, in New York, previously reported that the personal importance of religion or spirituality was associated with a lower risk for major depression. Now, they report the importance of religion among the offspring of the participants in that earlier study.
Patients with advanced cancer frequently use CAM. Researchers at the University of Toronto, in Canada, examined the use of CAM and implications for patient care.
The conventional view of family caregivers highlights their burdens. Researchers from Singapore found that caregivers may also find “meaning and enrichment in their caregiving journey.”
Having cancer may result in emotional, physical, and social suffering. Music interventions have been used to alleviate symptoms and treatment side effects in cancer patients. The authors of this Cochrane review report the response to music among cancer patients.
Researchers in the US compared the effects of a nondenominational spiritual retreat on depression and well-being following acute coronary syndrome — chest pain and other symptoms when the heart doesn’t get enough blood.
Researchers at the Cardinal Tien Hospital, in New Taipei City, Taiwan, explored the use of music during hemodialysis as a complementary therapy to improve overall well-being in elderly patients.
I’ve largely ignored these studies in the past, but perhaps it’s worth a second look. To start, this 1993 study by Dr. David Eisenberg, who is now the director of Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Harvard University, is considered a landmark in the field of “unconventional medicine.”
During the National Conference in Pediatric Psychology, researchers at the University of Cincinnati reported that urban adolescents with asthma might experience worse outcomes when not using spiritual coping.
“When people feel that they have a serious need for healing, they are willing to try almost anything,” say researchers at Indiana University Bloomington. Anchored by this skeptical point of view, these researchers studied the relationship between response to prayer and the proximity to the person being prayed for.
Researchers from Oregon Health & Science University, in Portland report positive results in healthy women. Then, we review yoga in cancer, with emphasis in breast cancer patients.
Researchers from Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania studied this association in depressed older adults in mental health settings.
Dr. Elaine Yuen is chaplain in the health care professionals program and research assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. In an editorial published in the American Journal of Medical Quality she states, “Spiritual care is integral to the science and art of healing, and therefore a critical … Continue reading Spirituality and religion in healthcare: Finding common ground
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) reports that approximately 38% of adults and 12% of children use some form of CAM. But this doesn’t include the use of spirituality or religion.
Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder studied whether religiosity moderated the genetic variance associated with problem alcohol use during adolescence and early adulthood.
It might not be sufficient on its own to prevent heart disease, but Dr. Desiree Lie, writing on Medscape, discusses the benefits.