Faith and health

The ethics in Catholic hospitals are guided by the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, which provide direction on many topics, including family planning. Previous research has demonstrated there is variability in the availability of prohibited family planning services at Catholic hospitals. This study aims to research a potential source of variability in interpretation and application of the directives through interviewing ethics committee members. Participants were recruited from two different hospitals on the east coast with a total sample size of eight...

BACKGROUND: Socioeconomic status as measured by education, income, or occupation, has been associated with fibromyalgia but the underlying mechanism and the role of lifestyle factors are unclear. Thus, we examine the role of modifiable lifestyle factors (body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking) in the association between education and self-reported fibromyalgia. METHODS: We used data from 74,157 participants in the population-based prospective Norwegian Women and Cancer (NOWAC) study...

BACKGROUND: Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions used to prevent diseases in susceptible populations. Despite the established efficacy of vaccines, there are many reasons people are hesitant about vaccination, and these reasons could be complex. This rapid survey estimated the prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and potentially contributing factors in Montserrado and Nimba counties in Liberia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adults living in Liberia...

BACKGROUND: Research on the lived experience of dementia is burgeoning across the social and health sciences. Yet, very little is still known about the experience of dementia for many tribes and ethnoreligious groups, as most studies are conducted in Western countries. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to advance the understanding of the role of faith and prayer in the lives of people with dementia in Nigeria through a lens of everyday citizenship. METHOD: Interviews were conducted with 17 older people with dementia in a low-income, Yoruba-speaking community in Southwestern Nigeria...

Despite self-congratulatory rhetoric, Canada compromised COVID-19 vaccine equity with policies impeding a proposed global waiver of vaccine intellectual property (IP) rules. To learn from Canada's vaccine nationalism we explore the worldview - a coherent textual picture of the world - in a sample of Government of Canada communications regarding global COVID-19 vaccine sharing. Analysed documents portray risks and disparities as unrelated to the dynamics and power relations of the Canadian and international economies...

We are surrounded by trauma, grief, pandemics, health care inequality, poverty, climate change, and social injustice, not to mention increases in suicide, depression, and loneliness. How can group therapists address these issues and thrive? The current special edition focuses on how groups foster compassion, provide spiritual healing, and address human suffering in effective and innovative ways. Instead of focusing on symptom reduction alone, group therapists and researchers are exploring ways that group therapy can provide healing and resources to people including health care providers, and those who are on the front lines...

BACKGROUND: Vision challenges are among the most prevalent disabling conditions in childhood, affecting up to 28% of school-age children. These issues can impact the development, learning, and literacy skills of affected children. While vision problems are correctable with timely diagnosis and treatment, insufficient networks can impede children's access to comprehensive, and high-quality care. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to determine where pediatric vision care network adequacy exists in the state of Arizona and where there are gaps in receiving vision care for children...

In June 2023, the UK began official hearings for its independent investigation into pandemic preparedness. Thus far, the inquiry has been told that planning has been wholly inadequate and that a future outbreak is inevitable. We present here four key problems that contributed to significant morbidity and mortality during the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic over the past 3 years in the UK - and which will contribute to excess morbidity and mortality in the next outbreak. First, there was misunderstanding about what procedures were deemed as aerosol generating...

This mixed-methods study was conducted to explore the role of faith in mental health among Latino women (Latinas) during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of a lifestyle study, surveys were administered to 89 participants during the 1st year of the pandemic. Specifically, a focus group was conducted with participants (n = 6) directly affected by COVID-19 (i.e., self or family member). The results showed inverse correlations between religiosity and both depression and anxiety, as well as positive correlations among religious practices, religious coping, and religiosity...

BACKGROUND: Vascular surgical site infections have been reported with an overall incidence of 5-10% for patients undergoing arterial interventions and as high as 10-20% for lower-limb bypass grafting procedures. Given that vascular surgery patients are known to be at a higher risk of postoperative wound infections and other complications, our objective was to evaluate a potential method to reduce such complications. This study compares the rate of wound healing complications between incisional negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and conventional dressings in vascular surgery patients with infra-inguinal incisions...

Traditionally, the focus of the operating theatre has been on conducting safe, efficient surgery with unconscious patients. However, the care of awake patients is now a prominent feature of modern perioperative practise as the volume of surgery performed under regional anaesthesia increases. The aim of this novel study was to understand the experience of being a conscious patient during regional anaesthesia and knee surgery in the perioperative environment. Data were gathered through observation and ethnographic interview and analysis followed a constant comparative grounded theory approach...

Spirituality/religion is clinically relevant to patients experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or alcohol use disorder (AUD). Despite the comorbidity of PTSD and AUD among first responders (i.e., firefighters, law enforcement, paramedics, corrections officers), relatively little research has investigated the lived experience of first responders with PTSD and AUD as it related to spirituality and religion. As such, 12 (100% cisgender men, 91.7% White/European American) first responder psychiatric patients with comorbid PTSD and AUD were recruited from a psychiatric program serving first responders in the Northeast...

Public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, elucidate the strengths, weaknesses, and significant gaps in infrastructure, compatibility and consistency in communication systems, as well as the quality of collaborative relationships, and provider and workforce capacity. They also expose longstanding patterns of mistrust in the government and healthcare systems, and inadequacy in socio-economic infrastructures. These issues resulted in higher COVID-19 infection and mortality rates, and lower vaccination rates in many rural counties across the nation, including Missouri...

Using a Bayesian statistical approach, this study aimed to provide a robust assessment of associations between religiosity and personal faith, timing of sexual initiation and sexual risk taking in young people. To produce posterior probability distribution of the estimation of associations, this study combined two population-based surveys of emerging Croatian adults and meta-analytical estimates pertaining to international studies published between 2000 and 2020. Regardless of the prior used, age at sexual debut was delayed by both religiosity (correlations ranged from 0...

Background: Long-term neurological conditions include multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's-related diseases, and motor neurone disease. National and international guidelines recommend a palliative approach for advancing neurological disease, but there is little research describing and comparing the palliative care needs of these patients side by side. Objective: The aim of this study was to describe and compare the symptom burden and psychological distress of patients with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's-related diseases, and motor neurone disease...

OBJECTIVE: Churches in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods serve as safe havens in many Black communities. Churches provide faith and charitable services but often have limited resources to address the mental health needs of their communities. This article reports on a collaborative effort, driven by members of a Black church, to understand mental health needs, coping strategies, and resilience factors in a community of socioeconomically disadvantaged Black Americans. METHODS: A community-based participatory research effort was established among a church, a community mental health organization, clinicians, and researchers to interview and survey individuals residing near the church...

The present study aimed to analyze the extent to which yoga practitioners (n = 784) live by their faith/spirituality and how this influences their perceived prosocial behaviors. For that purpose, the model of transformational spirituality was applied. This model assumes that people who experience the sacred in their lives change their attitudes and behaviors and take responsibility in the world. Data from this cross-sectional anonymous online survey with standardized questionnaires (e.g., Franciscan-Inspired Spirituality Questionnaire, Awe/Gratitude Scale, World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index) showed that for most of the enrolled yoga practitioners, yoga is a conscious way of life and a path of spiritual development...

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality among individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and social networks may play an important role in smoking behaviors. AIMS: Our objectives were to (1) describe the network characteristics of adults with SMI who smoke tobacco (2) explore whether network attributes were associated with nicotine dependence. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of baseline data from a tobacco smoking cessation intervention trial among 192 participants with SMI...

BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether treatment for an anxiety disorder improves sleep. This study examined baseline sleep characteristics of adolescents with an anxiety disorder, comparing weekdays and weekends, and whether there were significant improvements in sleep following cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). AIMS: To improve our understanding of sleep problems in adolescents with an anxiety disorder and examine whether CBT for the treatment of the anxiety disorder improves sleep...

INTRODUCTION: In the United States, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs). Designed to encourage bystanders to aid at the scene of an emergency, GSLs generally limit the risk of civil tort liability if the care is rendered in good faith. Nation-wide, a leading cause of preventable death is uncontrolled external hemorrhage. Public bleeding control initiatives aim to train the public to recognize life-threatening external bleeding, perform life-sustaining interventions (including direct pressure, tourniquet application, and wound packing), and to promote access to bleeding control equipment to ensure a rapid response from bystanders...