Religion and spirituality's influence on health

Religion and Spiritualitys Influence on Health

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the influence that religion and spirituality may have upon the individual's health. If health is to be considered from a scientific point-of-view, it is easy to understand how the connection stated above may be seen as controversial. However, research studies show that a great deal of physicians believe that religion and spirituality may have an important impact upon the health of the patient.

An essay published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in April 2007 (JAMA and Archives Journal, Most Physicians Believe That Religion Influences Patients' Health. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 24, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070409164931.htm) states that there is a connection between spirituality and the patients' health. The controversy is to be found in the quality of that impact (some suggest it is a positive one, while others support the opposite idea). Let us take for example the case of a person who has serious health problems. Besides affecting the body, the disease will also affect the patient at a spiritual level, getting him involved in an internal, personal debate regarding the value of life, the belief in an eternal life after the death of the body, the belief in the power of the human will, the belief in god and his will, etc. It is safe to assume that these issues are spiritually challenging for the person in case.

Most of the physicians who took Dr. Curlin's survey, (JAMA and Archives Journal, "Most Physicians Believe That Religion Influences Patients' Health." ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 24, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070409164931.htm) whether believers or not themselves, seem to agree that religion and generally speaking spiritual beliefs provide the patient with resources which he can use in order to respond to the afore mentioned challenges. Meditation and prayer are two relevant practices which can be quoted as examples under these circumstances. Two thirds of the physicians who took the survey test which was used as basis for the essay in question declared that illness is a factor which stimulates people to turn to religion and spirituality. The majority of the respondents also declared that the impact which religion and spirituality have upon the patient is positive. However, only 6% of them also believed that religious practices are likely to actually change the medical outcome.

At this point we may ask ourselves what are the actual effects of the spiritual practices in this context (the one of health challenges). The study based on Dr. Curlin's survey had most of the physicians answer that religion and spirituality help patients deal with their situation, giving them a positive state of mind. The role of the spiritual community was brought into discussion and doctors stated that often, its members provide both spiritual and practical support for those in need. Less than 10% of the respondents declared that the effects of religion and spirituality upon health are negative because they trigger emotions such as anxiety or guilt.

A small 2% of the physicians answering the survey test mentioned in the paragraphs before underlined that patients may tend to refuse medical treatment and base themselves upon supernatural powers (god's will). An important aspect which must be underlined at this point is that the religiousness of the physicians who took the survey was an influential factor. In other words, those who declared to have a higher degree of intrinsic religiosity were also more likely to view the connection between health, spirituality and religion and to speak about the positive impact of the latter.

Since the subject is very interesting, numerous other studies have been made throughout the world in order to establish whether there is a positive connection between spirituality, religion and people's health. A relevant research which we may quote at this point, analyzed the impact of religion and spirituality upon the diastolic and systolic blood pressure. The results of the research, made by Dr. Sharon Wyatt, PhD, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi for the Jackson Heart Study, were published in "Medical News Today" in 2006 (Medical News Today. "Positive influences of religion and spirituality on blood pressure." MedicalNewsToday. Retrieved June 24, 2010 from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/44202.php)

The factors which were taken into consideration included the organized religious activities such as attending sermons or watching them on tv, as well as the unorganized religious practices such as praying and meditation. In addition, the survey focused upon the degree to which people thought of interacting with god in their lives and the extent to which they would integrate the religious beliefs in the decision making process, especially under circumstances of stress.

The conclusions reached by the Jackson Heart Study authorities and presented in 2006 in New York at the Annual Scientific Meeting of Hypertension revealed that "Cardiovascular health disparities among African-Americans are widely recognized, and hypertension is the most prominent risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease in African-Americans" (Sharon Wyatt in Medical News Today, "Positive influences of religion and spirituality on blood pressure." MedicalNewsToday. Retrieved June 24, 2010 from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/44202.php ) the study underlined that the religious and spiritual practices, regardless of their form, were factors which acted as buffers against stress, thereby delaying the effects of hypertension and playing a positive role as far as people's health is concerned.

The research connected religion and spirituality with other factors, such as the socio-demographic ones, psychological states and physiological ones. "Female gender, lower socioeconomic status, increasing age, and lower levels of cortisol were associated with more religious activities. Higher levels of religious participation were related to higher levels of body mass index (BMI) and lower levels of medication adherence. Contrary to the original hypotheses, those with more religious activities and participation were more likely to be classified as hypertensive.However, those with more religious activities had significantly lower diastolic blood pressure in an uncontrolled model, and significantly lower systolic blood pressure in a controlled model." (Sharon Wyatt in Medical News Today." Positive influences of religion and spirituality on blood pressure." MedicalNewsToday. Retrieved June 24, 2010 from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/44202.php ) All in all it could be stated that the religious beliefs and the spiritual practices associated with them have a great potential of acting at psychological level, boosting the energy levels of the practitioners and enhancing their health level.

Further research in the area suggest that religion and spirituality could be used as educational instruments in order to prevent people from getting sick. One study in particular focused its attention upon the relation which could exist between health, risk prevention and spiritual practices. (Underwood, S.M., Powell, R.L. 2006. "Religion and spirituality: influence on health/risk behaviour and cancer screening behaviour of African-Americans." PubMed. NCBI Resources )

Underwood and Powell concluded that since the spiritual community is very strong and has a powerful influence upon its members, under the circumstances in which the medical information necessary in order to prevent various diseases such as cancer is scarce, it is the religious community that could be used as an educational instrument- helping to prevent heath risks and maintain a good health level. The authors underlined that some of the most important factors which ought to be taken into consideration in order to make sure that people increase their chances of leading healthy lives include: diet and nutrition, the controlled use of tobacco, physical activity and weight control.

Further studies have been performed in other health areas. A very sensitive field is represented by the people who have been diagnosed as having HIV / AIDS. Everybody knows that this is one of the diseases which can not be cured, therefore such a diagnosis may very well sound like a death sentence, shaking the individual in all of his spiritual convictions and beliefs. The authors of the study under discussion (Szaflarski, M., Ritchey, P.N., Leonard, a., Mrus, J.M., Peterman, a. And Tsevat, J. 2005. "Modeling the effects of spirituality/religion on patients' perceptions of living with HIV / AIDS." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Marriott Hotel, Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia) wanted to see the impact that religion and spirituality might have upon the perception of life (life's quality) after having been diagnosed with HIV / AIDS. As far as the scientific instruments which were used in order to convey the research, these included the Religious Coping Scale, the Duke Religion Index and the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy- Spirituality.

The patients which were part of the research found themselves at different stages of the disease. An important quotient responded that spiritual practices and beliefs led them to believe that "life was better." The authors underline that the proper medication and social support were fundamental. Nevertheless, the spiritual beliefs and practices helped people improve their perception of themselves, their beliefs regarding health in general. The researchers also concluded that spirituality's influence is stronger when it involves beliefs regarding health. In other words, if through religious and spiritual practices, the individual is led to improve his ideas regarding his health, then this will also boost the perception of himself, helping him to cope better with the illness and perceive a higher life quality than he would in the absence of the spiritual factors. (Szaflarski, M., Ritchey, P.N., Leonard, a., Mrus, J.M., Peterman, a. And Tsevat, J. )

Generally speaking, the researchers in the area of health psychology who focused their attention upon the argument under discussion agree that there is a positive connection which can be established between mental health (supported by spirituality) and physical health. However, it must be mentioned that in numerous studies, the religious and spiritual factors did not succeed in having a strongly relevant impact upon people's health.