Religious/spiritual (R/S) coping has been associated with health outcomes in chronically ill adults; however, little is known about how adolescents use R/S to cope with a chronic illness such as sickle cell disease (SCD). Using a mixed method approach (quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews), we examined R/S coping, spirituality, and health-related quality of life in 48 adolescents with SCD and 42 parents of adolescents with SCD. Adolescents reported high rates of religious attendance and belief in God, prayed often, and had high levels of spirituality (e.g., finding meaning/peace in their lives and deriving comfort from faith). Thirty-five percent of adolescents reported praying once or more a day for symptom management. The most common positive R/S coping strategies used by adolescents were: “Asked forgiveness for my sins” (73% of surveys) and “Sought God’s love and care” (73% of surveys). Most parents used R/S coping strategies to cope with their child’s illness. R/S coping was not significantly associated with HRQOL (p = NS). R/S coping, particularly prayer, was relevant for adolescents with SCD and their parents. Future studies should assess adolescents’ preferences for discussing R/S in the medical setting and whether R/S coping is related to HRQOL in larger samples.

BACKGROUND: Depression has been linked to immune function and mortality in patients with chronic illnesses. Factors such as poorer spiritual well‐being has been linked to increased risk for depression and other mood disorders in patients with HIV. OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine how specific dimensions of religion, spirituality, and other factors relate to depressive symptoms in a contemporary, multi‐center cohort of patients with HIV/AIDS. DESIGN: Patients were recruited from 4 medical centers in 3 cities in 2002 to 2003, and trained interviewers administered the questionnaires. The level of depressive symptoms was measured with the 10‐item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CESD‐10) Scale. Independent variables included socio‐demographics, clinical information, 8 dimensions of health status and concerns, symptoms, social support, risk attitudes, self‐esteem, spirituality, religious affiliation, religiosity, and religious coping. We examined the bivariate and multivariable associations of religiosity, spirituality, and depressive symptoms. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We collected data from 450 subjects. Their mean (SD) age was 43.8 (8.4) years; 387 (86.0%) were male; 204 (45.3%) were white; and their mean CD4 count was 420.5 (301.0). Two hundred forty‐one (53.6%) fit the criteria for significant depressive symptoms (CESD‐10 score ≥10). In multivariable analyses, having greater health worries, less comfort with how one contracted HIV, more HIV‐related symptoms, less social support, and lower spiritual well‐being was associated with significant depressive symptoms (P<.05). CONCLUSION: A majority of patients with HIV reported having significant depressive symptoms. Poorer health status and perceptions, less social support, and lower spiritual well‐being were related to significant depressive symptoms, while personal religiosity and having a religious affiliation was not associated when controlling for other factors. Helping to address the spiritual needs of patients in the medical or community setting may be one way to decrease depressive symptoms in patients with HIV/AIDS.

Electrolytes play a critical role in stabilizing highly reactive lithium‐metal anodes (LMAs) and high‐voltage cathodes for rechargeable lithium‐metal batteries (LMBs). Localized high concentration electrolytes (LHCEs) have achieved remarkable success in the context of LMBs. However, the state‐of‐the‐art LHCEs are based on LiFSI salt, which is prohibitively expensive. Here, the utility of low‐cost LiPF6 salt in localized saturated electrolytes (LSEs) with a series of solvents and diluents in LMBs with cobalt‐free LiNiO2 cathode is systematically explored. Experimental and theoretical analyses reveal that the unique solvation structure formed not only changes the distribution of solvents and anions but also alters the atom–atom distances within them, leading to different reduction and oxidation stabilities compared to low‐concentration electrolytes. In addition, LSEs help form LiF‐rich interphase layers on the LMA and LiNiO2 cathode, protecting the electrodes from degradation during cycling. Different LSEs also lead to differences in lithium plating morphology and impedance buildup during cycling, impacting the performance of LMBs. The solvent and diluent must be carefully selected for compatibility with a lithium salt when developing LHCEs and LSEs for LMBs.