The efficacy of religious and spiritual interventions in nursing care to promote mental, physical and spiritual health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
PubMed 36116867 · doi:10.1016/j.apnr.2022.151618
What was done
A systematic review and meta-analysis following PRISMA guidelines evaluated the efficacy of nurse-delivered religious and spiritual interventions compared to control care without such interventions. Searches across SCOPUS, PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL through July 2020 included peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials published in English, Portuguese, or Spanish. Risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration tool.
What was found
A total of 18 RCTs met systematic review criteria, with 9 included in the meta-analyses. Spiritual interventions were associated with: - Significantly lower mental health symptoms: SMD = -6.91 (95% CI: -9.83 to -3.98, p < 0.001, I² = 99%). - Significantly greater well-being: SMD = 1.26 (95% CI: 0.58 to 1.93, p < 0.001, I² = 94%). - Higher spirituality levels: SMD = 0.48 (95% CI: 0.29 to 0.67, p < 0.001, I² = 31%).
Why it matters
This review provides quantitative synthesis on spiritual and religious care integrated into nursing, suggesting potential clinical benefits for patient mental health and overall well-being.
Limits
Extreme statistical heterogeneity was present for mental health (I² = 99%) and well-being (I² = 94%) outcomes, alongside substantial clinical variability in intervention types. More than half of the included studies demonstrated high risk of bias in at least one evaluated domain. Total participant counts and specific physical health metrics are omitted from the abstract.