Religious struggle as a predictor of subsequent mental and physical well-being in advanced heart failure patients

Abstract

Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) often report high levels of religiousness, which may mitigate the stressfulness of their condition. However, religious struggle, reflecting negative attitudes toward God and a strained meaning system, may be detrimental to well-being. Little is known about religious struggle in those with CHF, particularly in relation to physical health and well-being over time. We examined associations of religious struggle and subsequent mental and physical well-being in 101 endstage CHF patients who completed questionnaires twice over 3 months. Religious struggle predicted higher number of nights subsequently hospitalized, higher depression, and marginally lower life satisfaction. When controlling for baseline levels of well-being, effectively assessing change in those outcomes, religious struggle remained a significant predictor of hospitalization and also emerged as a marginally significant predictor of lower physical functioning. Struggle was unrelated to health-related quality of life. Post-hoc analyses suggest that these effects were particularly strong for those endorsing greater religious identification. Religious struggle appears to have a potentially negative impact on well-being in advanced CHF; therefore, helping patients to address issues of struggle may meaningfully lessen the personal and societal costs of CHF.

Screening for religious/spiritual struggle in blood and marrow transplant patients

“…Evidence continues to accumulate of the harmful effects of R/S struggle among adult and adolescent patients with diverse conditions [46–50] and among their caregivers [38]. In light of this, it is important for clinicians to inquire about whether their patients are experiencing R/S struggle [48, 49] and, if so, to make referrals for further assessment and possible spiritual care from a professional chaplain or other professional trained to address those concerns [51].…”

Assessment instruments for patients with advanced heart failure: a review of the literature

“…Varios estudios transversales han demostrado que los aspectos positivos que aportan la espiritualidad y religiosidad son relacionados con un mejor bienestar psicológico de las personas que viven con IC 27 . A pesar de encontrar 5 instrumentos para su valoración, como ya se ha comentado, únicamente se encuentran traducidos al español el Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale y el FACIT-Sp, por consiguiente se abren opciones de futuras investigaciones en lo que se refiere a adaptación cultural y validación al castellano de varios instrumentos.…”

“…Sin embargo, escasas investigaciones se han desarrollado en este aspecto en el paciente con ICA, salvo las realizadas por Park y col 15,27 y Strada y col 20 . Por ello, no predomina el empleo de algún instrumento por encima de otro.…”

“…Por ello, no predomina el empleo de algún instrumento por encima de otro. Se conoce que todas ellas muestran unas propiedades de validez y fiabilidad adecuadas ofreciendo opciones para su uso en la práctica clínica 15,20,27 . No obstante, únicamente se encuentran validados y traducidos al español, el Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale y el FACIT-Sp 53 .…”

Relationships Between Negative Spiritual Beliefs and Health Outcomes for Individuals With Heterogeneous Medical Conditions

“…The studies they cited, as well as several subsequent articles, suggest that some forms of negative spiritual coping may represent spiritual struggles that can at times lead to better psychological health (Koenig, Pargament, & Nielsen, 1998;Pargament et al, 1999;Pargament, Koenig, & Perez, 2000;Smith, Pargament, Brant, & Oliver, 2000;Gall et al, 2005; C. L. Park, Wortmann, & Edmondson, 2011). But such results are not always consistent.…”