The Effects of Spirituality and Religiosity on Better Symptom Control in Patients With Covid-19

Abstract

The new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), whose disease is COVID-19, in March 2020, spread around the world. To minimize the deleterious effects of emotional vulnerability, many strategies are in use worldwide, such as support groups, online courses, use of social networks, web meetings, yoga practice, meditation, and other contemplative religious and spiritual activities. Religious and spiritual beliefs have been used to deal with tough situations and, through scientific literature is still not so clear about the role of spirituality and religiosity (S/R) in physical and mental health during the pandemic. Therefore, this article proposes a discussion about the physiopathological mechanisms of COVID-19 and how S/R could be useful in this context. In this sense, religious faith can be a powerful resource for good health and well-being with a positive impact verified in mental health outcomes it is plausible to suggest that S/R should be an important tool in minimizing the population suffering at this moment. Spiritual care has long been recognized as one of the domains of quality palliative care, but every health care professional is ultimately responsible for ensuring spiritual care to deal with spiritual distress and improve quality of life in the scenarios inherent to COVID-19.