Spiritual practice: a literature review related to spiritual health and health outcomes

Abstract

Spirituality and the expression of spirituality have received renewed interest in both nursing and nonnursing literature over the last 20 years. Scholars in spirituality studies have contributed to the wealth of both qualitative and quantitative data that exist. Spiritual practices that facilitate spiritual health are embedded within many nursing interventions. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of empirical and associated nursing literature on spiritual practices. Definitions of spirituality and spiritual health are included, and theoretical underpinnings of the empirical literature are discussed. Relation of spiritual practice as a health behavior is presented with implications for future research identified.