Abstract
On the rise globally is the epidemic of psychological distress, which encompasses mental illness, hopelessness, depression, and stress. When left untreated, further harm can occur with distressed individuals, not only affecting mental health, but potentially, even affecting quality of physical health outcomes. With extensive, systemic prevalence globally, cost-effective and widely available interventions are needed. This systematic review of the literature explores an economical and universally-available approach – the application of spiritual care to patients experiencing psychological distress. This review addresses the clinical question: In patients over 13 years of age affected by psychological distress, how do spiritual care interventions compared to no intervention affect mental health outcomes? To answer this question, a systematic database search was conducted using the Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the PubMed database, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Exclusion criteria included peer-reviewed articles, a five-year recency of publication, and studies on adults aged 13 and older conducted in developed countries. Four articles were selected based on evidence level and clinical relevance. The synthesized findings show spiritual care emerging as an effective intervention, mitigating depression, anxiety, and psychological distress/morbidity both in acute and longitudinal settings.
Notes
References:
21st Century Cures Act, Public Law No. 114-255, 130 Stat. 1036 (2016). https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ255/PLAW-114publ255.pdf
Braam, A. W., & Koenig, H. G. (2019). Religion, spirituality and depression in prospective studies: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 257, 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2019.06.063
Durmus, M., & Ekinci, M. (2022). The effect of spiritual care on anxiety and depression level in patients receiving hemodialysis treatment: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Religion & Health, 61(3), 2041–2055. https://doi-org.cuw.ezproxy.switchinc.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01386-4
Johns Hopkins Health System (2022). Johns Hopkins appendix E research appraisal tool [Word document]. Hopkinsmedicine.org. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/nursing/center-nursing-inquiry/inquiry-toolkit.html
Johns Hopkins Health System (2022). Johns Hopkins appendix G research appraisal tool [Word document]. Hopkinsmedicine.org. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/nursing/center-nursing-inquiry/inquiry-toolkit.html
Miranda, T., Caldeira, S., de Oliveira, H., Iunes, D., Nogueira, D., Chaves, E., & de Carvalho, E. (2020). Intercessory prayer on spiritual distress, spiritual coping, anxiety, depression and salivary amylase in breast cancer patients during radiotherapy: Randomized clinical trial. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(1), 365–380. https://doi-org.cuw.ezproxy.switchinc.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00827-5
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Increase the proportion of adults with serious mental illness who get treatment — MHMD-04. health.gov. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/mental-health-and-mental-disorders/increase-proportion-adults-serious-mental-illness-who-get-treatment-mhmd-04
Witt, K., Hetrick, S., Rajaram, G., Hazell, P., Taylor Salisbury, T., Townsend, E., & Hawton, K. (2021). Psychosocial interventions for self-harm in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2021, (4). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD013668.pub2.
World Health Organization (2022, June 8). Mental Disorders. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders
Sigma Membership
Theta Gamma at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Systematic Review
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Stress and Coping, Workforce, Parish-based Care, Spiritual Care, Evidence-based Practice
Recommended Citation
Rose, Rebekah, "Psychological Distress and Spiritual Care – An Effective Intervention?" (2025). Biennial Convention (CONV). 53.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/convention/2025/presentations_2025/53
Conference Name
48th Biennial Convention
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2025-11-19
Psychological Distress and Spiritual Care – An Effective Intervention?
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
On the rise globally is the epidemic of psychological distress, which encompasses mental illness, hopelessness, depression, and stress. When left untreated, further harm can occur with distressed individuals, not only affecting mental health, but potentially, even affecting quality of physical health outcomes. With extensive, systemic prevalence globally, cost-effective and widely available interventions are needed. This systematic review of the literature explores an economical and universally-available approach – the application of spiritual care to patients experiencing psychological distress. This review addresses the clinical question: In patients over 13 years of age affected by psychological distress, how do spiritual care interventions compared to no intervention affect mental health outcomes? To answer this question, a systematic database search was conducted using the Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews, the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, the PubMed database, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Exclusion criteria included peer-reviewed articles, a five-year recency of publication, and studies on adults aged 13 and older conducted in developed countries. Four articles were selected based on evidence level and clinical relevance. The synthesized findings show spiritual care emerging as an effective intervention, mitigating depression, anxiety, and psychological distress/morbidity both in acute and longitudinal settings.
Description
This qualitative review explores the efficacy, cost-effectiveness and application of spiritual care as a solution to psychological distress, depression and psychological morbidity.