Defining Spirituality in Healthcare: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the definitions of spirituality in the healthcare field, identifying its main dimensions and proposing a framework that operationalizes the understanding of this concept.Methods: This is a systematic review following the PRISMA guideline (PROSPERO: CRD42021262091), searching for spirituality definitions published in scientific journals. Searches were carried out in PubMed (all articles listed up to October 2020) and in the reference lists of the articles found in the database, followed by selection under specific eligibility criteria.Results: From a total of 493 articles, 166 were included in the final analysis, showing that there is a large body of scientific literature proposing and analyzing spirituality definitions. In these articles, 24 spirituality dimensions were found, most commonly related to the connectedness and meaning of life. Spirituality was presented as a human and individual aspect. These findings led us to construct a framework that represents spirituality as a quantifiable construct.Conclusions: Understanding spirituality is an important aspect for healthcare research and clinical practice. This proposed framework may help to better understand the complexity of this topic, where advances are desirable, given the relevance it has acquired for integral health care.

Spiritual Dimension in Neurological and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Systematic Mapping Review

“…In recent decades, there has been an increase in scientific interest in spirituality/religion as a coping strategy. The search for religious and/or spiritual support is especially necessary in situations of crisis or threat, such as those that a terminal patient, in a critical situation, or with a chronic disease can experience (de Brito Sena et al, 2021 ). Therefore, studies such as the one by Landa-Ramírez et al, ( 2017 ) determined that spiritual and/or religious coping is present in the Latino population with breast cancer, especially in elderly women, providing them with emotional and social support during their illness.…”

“…However, a terminological confusion about terms “spirituality” and “religiosity” continues. Previous studies have indicated that spirituality and religiosity are related and overlapping, varying according to the cultural context and the dynamic quality of the spirituality itself (de Brito Sena et al, 2021 ). In addition, this overlap supports the belief that religious traditions should be understood by health professionals, particularly in clinical practice and in the training of health professionals (Puchalski & Larson, 1998 ).…”

Afiliação religiosa e decisões de cuidado à saúde

“…Uma vez que aproximadamente 90% da população mundial está envolvida em alguma prática espiritual/religiosa (3) este campo de estudos desempenha papel relevante na vida e, portanto, na saúde do ser humano. A dimensão espiritual/religiosa pode caracterizar-se pela relação e sobreposição entre os conceitos de que espiritualidade e religiosidade e que variam de acordo com a influência do contexto cultural no qual o indivíduo está inserido (4) . Justamente essa sobreposição pressupõe que as crenças, práticas e experiências espirituais/religiosas envolvidas nas tradições religiosas precisam ser adequadamente compreendidas pelos profissionais da saúde que devem ser capacitados para reconhecer essa dimensão em seus pacientes e facilitar as conexões com o suporte apropriado (5) .…”

“…Contudo, as crenças e experiências não estão necessariamente ligadas à frequência religiosa organizacional. Estudo realizado no Reino Unido (6) (4,6) .…”

“…Está intimamente ligada com o místico e o sobrenatural, porém estende-se além da organização formal da religião. Inclui tanto a busca pelo transcendente quanto a descoberta do transcendente e, portanto, envolve o próprio caminho de questionamento e busca (4,138) . Para fins de pesquisa, a definição de espiritualidade relacionada às suas origens na religião, seja tradicional ou não tradicional (137) .…”