The relationship between spiritual knowledge and practices in the health-disease process: integrative review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify how spiritual knowledge and practices are related to the health-disease process of the subjects. METHODS AND MATERIALS: This is an integrative review of the literature developed in the databases SCIELO, LILACS, BDENF, CINAHL and MEDLINE. The descriptors were "spirituality", "healing by faith" and "health-disease process". These descriptors were associated with the Boolean operator "and". As inclusion criteria, original researches (in English, Portuguese and Spanish) were adopted between 2008 and 2018. These surveys are available in full for free. RESULTS: 16 scientific studies were identified in the databases. Data analysis originated three thematic categories: the influence of religiosity in specific situations of illness; health professionals and spirituality; spiritual knowledge and practices and its relationship with the health-disease process. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: It was observed that spirituality is seen as an important form of personal confrontation for people who go through chronic illness processes. In addition, it serves as a means for the social support of these individuals. The main healing practices reported in the literature were baths, prayers, spells and offerings. Professionals see this theme as something necessary in the care process, although they do not believe they have gone through a training process that takes these issues into consideration.