Balboni, VanderWeele, Koh, and colleagues have conducted a new study at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, published in JAMA on July 12, 2022, Spirituality in Serious Illness and Healthand they say that Spirituality can provide a positive impact when it comes to both general and serious illness.
In fact, Spirituality could include organized religion but it could also includes ways of finding ultimate meaning by connecting, for example to family.
The experts noted that for healthy people, spiritual community participation–as exemplified by religious service attendance – is linked with healthier lives, including greater longevity, less depression and suicide, and less substance use. For many patients, spirituality is important and influences key outcomes in illness, such as quality of life and medical care decisions.
According to the researchers, attention to spirituality in serious illness and in health should be a vital part of future whole person-centered care.
Nicole Rura – Harvard-Neurosciencenews.com
