Review and Characterization of Portuguese Theses, Dissertations, and Papers about Spirituality in Health

Joana Romeiro,Sara Pinto,Sílvia Caldeira,Helga Martins

doi:10.3390/rel9090271

Abstract

Research about spirituality has grown widely in the past decades and the interest in health care is also evident in Portugal. This literature review aims to identify and to characterize Portuguese theses, dissertations, and papers about spirituality in health, and to provide a systematic overview of the knowledge concerning this subject. The search was conducted in February 2017 and updated in January 2018. Four independent reviewers screened and analyzed all citations, and a total of 76 results were included. Publications started in 2002 and include master degree dissertations (n = 37), scientific papers (n = 31), and PhD theses (n = 8). Papers were published in 24 national and international journals. Most papers were psychology- and nursing-related and had a quantitative design (n = 55). Samples were mostly composed of patients living with a chronic disease (n = 20) or elderly (n = 11). The Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire (SWBQ) was the most used tool. A multidisciplinary approach is regarded as foundational in implementing spirituality in the provision of health care and the results underline the interest on this topic from other disciplines rather than nursing. Further studies must provide a deeper understanding of spirituality in children, adolescents or families’ perspective bringing new insights to advanced health practice.

Highlights

Spirituality is an individual dimension and a complex and universal phenomenon (Barber 2012).Several attempts to define the concept have been made based on the subjective nature of spirituality, and different conceptual approaches can be found in the literature throughout the years
This study points to a primary evidence that clearly extrapolates the four studies reported in one nursing review conducted between the years of 1990 and 2010 (Caldeira et al 2011a), and reinforces the multidisciplinary interest previously addressed in an international review conducted between 1999 and 2013 (Lucchetti and Lucchetti 2014)
This study provides the characterization of Portuguese theses, dissertations, and papers about spirituality in health, mapping the scientific knowledge development that has occurred in the country

Summary

Introduction

Spirituality is an individual dimension and a complex and universal phenomenon (Barber 2012).Several attempts to define the concept have been made based on the subjective nature of spirituality, and different conceptual approaches can be found in the literature throughout the years. Spirituality has been defined as “a way of being in the world in which a person feels a sense of connectedness to self, others, and/or a higher power or nature; a sense of meaning in life; and transcendence beyond self, everyday living, and suffering” Spirituality plays a critical role in human existence, on perceptions of health and well-being, and relates to patients’ quality of life (Koenig 2012; Papathanasiou et al 2014). Related to challenging and unpredictable life events, spirituality was proven to be supportive and therapeutic during adverse health conditions (Koenig 2012; Timmins and Caldeira 2017)

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