Spiritual Well-being in Patients with Chronic Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

J Relig Health. 2022 Oct;61(5):3969-3987. doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01595-5. Epub 2022 Jul 6.

Abstract

As a significant health challenge, chronic disease can have critical spiritual consequences for patients. Therefore, the study of spiritual well-being as an aspect of health is essential but has been less considered with regard to chronic diseases. Thus, this systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to investigate spiritual well-being in patients with chronic diseases. For this purpose, in the initial search that was performed of valid databases, a total of 615 descriptive studies published between 2000 and 2018 were found. After carefully assessing these, only 24 studies were included in the review. Overall, the spiritual well-being of 3289 patients with chronic disease was investigated. This study showed that the total mean score of the spiritual well-being of patients with chronic diseases was 86.65 (P < 0.001, 95%, CI: 80.34-92.96), indicating a moderate level of spiritual well-being in these patients. Thus, patients with chronic diseases are recommended to consider spiritual consultation programs.

Keywords: Chronic disease; Meta-analysis; Spiritual well-being; Systematic review.

Publication types

  • Meta-Analysis
  • Systematic Review

MeSH terms

  • Chronic Disease
  • Humans
  • Spirituality*