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. 2023 Mar 16:37:24.
doi: 10.47176/mjiri.37.24. eCollection 2023.

How Do Iranian Researchers Measure Spirituality in Health Studies? A Scoping Review

Leila Ghalichi  1 , Fatemeh Shirzad  2 , Omid Pournik  3
Affiliations

How Do Iranian Researchers Measure Spirituality in Health Studies? A Scoping Review

Leila Ghalichi et al. Med J Islam Repub Iran. .

Abstract

Background: Despite the existing literature on the effect of spirituality on health, lack of consensus on definition and evaluation methods are major barriers to applying the results of these studies. In this scoping review, we intend to identify the instruments used for evaluating spirituality in health in Iran and evaluate their domains.

Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, Islamic World Science Citation Center, Scientific Information Database, and Magiran between 1994 and 2020. We then identified the questionnaires and searched for the original article reporting the development or translation, as well as the psychometric evaluation process. We extracted data on their type (developed/translated), and other psychometric properties. Finally, we categorized the questionnaires accordingly.

Results: After selecting the studies and evaluating the questionnaires, we identified 33 questionnaires evaluating religiosity (10 questionnaires), spiritual health (8 questionnaires), spirituality (5 questionnaires), religious attitude (4 questionnaires), spiritual need (3 questionnaires) and spiritual coping (3 questionnaires). Other existing questionnaires had issues in the development or translation process or lacked reported psychometric evaluations.

Conclusion: Many questionnaires have been used in spiritual health studies in the Iranian population. These questionnaires cover different subscales according to their theoretical base and the developers' perspectives. Researchers should be informed about these aspects of the questionnaires and select the instruments meticulously based on the aim of their study and the characteristics of the questionnaires.

Keywords: Iran; Questionnaire; Religion; Spirituality.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

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Figure 1
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