Spiritual Support Among African American and Caucasian ADRD Caregivers: A Risk and Resilience Study

Research shows African Americans at greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) compared to Caucasians, suggesting African American ADRD caregivers are rising in numbers at a greater rate than Caucasian counterparts. A recent study indicated spiritual wellbeing differences among these caregiver groups. Using a quasi-follow-up of members of a larger caregiver sample, the purpose of this study was to test spiritual support as a moderator via a risk-and-resilience framework. Secondary data analysis from a sample of 691 ADRD caregivers examined data on demographics and standardized measures of spiritual support, caregiver burden, and psychological resilience. One-third of the sample reported as African American. Resilience negatively regressed, though not significantly, on caregiving burden among both groups. Spiritual support positively, significantly impacted resilience among both groups, slightly stronger among African Americans. Spiritual support did not significantly moderate risk with either group. Implications for professional healthcare practice are discussed.

Spirituality and spiritual well-being among nursing students

Aim: A descriptive study was conducted to assess the spirituality and spiritual among nursing students in a selected college of nursing in Ernakulum District, Kerala. Background: Spirituality and spiritual care are of great importance as fundamental principles in health care. With the introduction of important changes in the health care system, nurses use the concept of holism in patient care and the spiritual aspect of health care is steadily gaining importance. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the health needs should include spiritual well-being in addition to physical, mental, and social domains .Spirituality is a positive dimension of the human being and care and might help patients reframe their experiences and condition of illness as well as find meaning in life and in that circumstance.Spiritual well being is one of a core human component that provides driving force to give person stability, meaning, and fulfillment in life, faith in self. The purpose of this study is to assess the spirituality, spiritual wellbeing and perception towards spiritual care among nursing students. Methods: A Descriptive analytical study was conducted among 129 BSc Nursing students studying in a Nursing College attached to a Medical College Hospital of South India during the month of December 2020.Convenience sampling technique was adopted for the study. Spirituality assessment scale and spiritual well being assessment scale were used to collect the data.Pilot study was conducted and the study was found to be feasible. Permission from the authorities was obtained and data collection was done. The data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics and R software used for the analysis. Results: The result revealed the mean score of spirituality and spiritual wellbeing as 84.40(SD+_8.45) and 65.81(SD+_6.09) respectively and a statistically significant strong positive correlation was found between spirituality and spiritual wellbeing with correlation coefficient ( r ) 0.806 at p value < 0.0001. Conclusion: Spirituality is a significant concept for the discipline of nursing with profound consequences for caring patients. Spirituality is an important aspect of holistic care This study identified that there is a strong relationship between spirituality and spiritual wellbeing.So this study convey the significance of spirituality and spiritual well being in holistic care.

Pondok, Tsangaya, and Old Age Spiritual Wellbeing

A Comparative analysis of practices obtained between the Pondok and Tsangaya with regard to traditional Islamic education and spirituality in Malaysia and Nigeria, indicates that, despite areas of similarity in origin and evolution, there exist a unique area of sharp contrast in relation to later life spirituality and elder care. The article maintains that, despite the two systems sharing wider similarities of originating from the traditional system of Arabic and Islamic education, the Pondok provides a complete platform for the spiritual life cycle, with opportunities for devotion from childhood to death. The Tsangaya on the other hand, covers childhood to early adulthood, thus, presenting a halfway approach to the spiritual life cycle. Recommendations were based on the need for the Tsangaya to model along aspects of the Pondok in a manner that will enable the incorporation of later life spiritual needs of the elderly. The purpose of this article is to carry out a comparative analysis of these two systems of traditional Islamic education , in relation to eldercare and spiritual wellbeing. The relevance of this paper lies in the fact that population aging is currently receiving attention as global crises, and issues of elderly wellbeing in all aspects are being explored towards addressing the needs of the elderly.

THE INFLUENCE OF UNIQUE MELODIES OF PRASHASTHI AND KAMATH SONGS IN SRI LANKAN FOLK MUSIC ON HEART RATE

Music plays an important role in our day to day life as a source of entertainment. More importantly music can also affect the other aspects of physical, mental, social and spiritual wellbeing of a person. According to Western and Eastern literature, heart rate correlates with certain musical aspects including tempo, melody, and music genre. The present research studied the variation of heart rate while listening to sedative and excitative Sri Lankan folk melodies. Prashasthi and Kamath folk musical creations have been selected for this experiment. Forty-five men between the ages of 25-30 who had never studied music were used as samples in this research. The mean heart rates of the subjects have increased significantly while listening to the prashasthi song. The mean heart of the subjects three minutes after stopping the prashasthi song remained significantly increased compared to their baseline (p < 0.01). Listening to Kamath songs did not significantly change the mean heart rates of the subjects.

Psychological, Spiritual and Emotional Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences and Interventions Made

Summary: Outbreak of Corona Virus in December 2019, in Wuhan placed a novel challenge in front of mankind. COVID-19 has affected every country in different magnitudes. The absence of vaccine and changed lifestyle suddenly imposed upon masses affected their functioning as well. Those victimized by the virus have their own problems while others also have had their own sufferings. Objectives: Amidst all trials and tests for cure, this paper is an attempt to understand the psychological, spiritual and emotional response to COVID-19 and Government Interventions in India. It also tries to assess the differences in experiences across age, gender and educational qualifications. Design: The study adopts a mixed approach and is an exploratory cross-sectional study. For the purpose of the study, shortened version of Czech SWSB, RYFF’s Psychological Wellbeing 18 point scale and STAI scale were customized for pandemic times, administered towards the end of Lockdown 1.0 in India. After reliability and validity tests, established scales are used to study the variable in the research. For the analysis of data Smart PLS SEM 3.3.2 is used. Setting: General masses of India were a part of the study. A cohort of 100 respondents willing to participate in the survey during the initial 21 days lockdown in India was studied which was selected using snowball sampling. Main outcome measures: The study measures the association of psychological, spiritual and emotional response to covid-19 pandemic experiences and also the response to interventions made. Findings: The results show that there is trivial relation of age, education and gender to the experiences of COVID-19. It was also found that Psychological Wellbeing and Spiritual Wellbeing were significantly related to the experiences of COVID-19. Conclusion: Extreme external factors like covid-19 pandemic act as stressors and affect the psychological and spiritual wellbeing of all.

Sufism in the Poems of Ahmad Kamal Abdullah

This study aims to find sufi values in the poems of Ahmad Kamal Abdullah (Kemala), a modern Malaysian poet. In this study, the writer uses sufi literary theory to analyse poems by Kemala. The poems are taken from three collections of Kemala's poems, namely Ziarah Tanah Kudup (2006), Syurga ke Sembilan (2009), and Dhikr Serenades; Titir Zikir (2010). This study of sufi elements is the poems of Kemala employs the theory of Seyyed Hossein Nasr and concerns three major elements of tasawwuf (sufi mysticism), that is, the Divine, Mankind and spiritual wellbeing. The conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that the poems of Kemala are inseparable from sufism. The Divine is, in Kemala's poems, an aim in mankind's life journey. The Divine in this case is personified as light or "Nur". Mankind, in Kemala's poems, is depicted as the Salik or traveller in search of an end to his journey, which is the Divine Himself. While spiritual wellbeing is about the search and contemplation of human life.

Bread in the Desert: The Politics and Practicalities of Food in Early Egyptian Monasticism

The Apophthegmata Patrum (Sayings of the Desert Fathers) offer a compelling literary perspective on the daily lives of early Egyptian monastics. The routine necessities of food and drink played a distinct part in the physical and spiritual survival of these novel monastic communities. When, what, and how much a monk ate could cause celebration or scandal. Every meal was likewise a test. This study has two purposes. First, it situates the Sayings's many references to bread, salt, oil, and fruit within the dietary possibilities of late antique Egypt. Second, and more broadly, this study highlights the place of eating (or not eating) as it relates to particular monastic notions of spiritual wellbeing. Meals were always an arena for acts of heroic asceticism, but they also served as highly charged communal confrontations, a dizzying back and forth of hospitality received or rejected, of honor and shame played out in alimentary paradoxes. In this, the Sayings bear witness to the spiritual politics of eating within Egyptian monastic culture and provide insight into the formation of late antique religious identities, betraying fundamental tensions inherent in other forms of Christian literature.