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To analyze which pandemic related changes of attitudes and behaviors were perceived by Seventh-day Adventists (SDA) and how these relate to wellbeing, a cross-sectional survey with standardized questionnaires was performed. Participants (n = 1,494) stated changes for Relationships, Digital media usage and Nature/Silence/Contemplation, but not for Spirituality or Reflection of life. Best predictors of psychological wellbeing (WHO-5) were Spiritual wellbeing, perceived Restrictions and Awe/Gratitude (R2 = .32). Mediation analyses (R2 = 0.51) revealed a mediation effect of Awe/Gratitude between spiritual to psychological wellbeing (β = 0.11, p

Many believers experience phases of spiritual dryness in their lives coupled with feelings of exhaustion, confusion, and emotional emptiness. Even religious sisters and brothers experience such phases. But how do they cope with phases of spiritual dryness, and what resources do they use to overcome them? In a qualitative study, 30 religious brothers and sisters utilized four main categories of resources: internal reflective resources, internal spiritual resources, external personal resources, and external other resources. A primary strategy does not seem to exist for overcoming phases of spiritual dryness. In the context of this study, therefore, several resources emerged that were used in accordance with the triggers and were applied against the background of the life situation, context and attitudes, perceptions, behavioral competencies, resources, and abilities of the person concerned.

Attention to spiritual and religious issues is considered an important therapeutic method for patients with chronic disorders. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the SpREUK-P questionnaire for evaluating spiritual and religious opinions among Iranian patients with chronic gastrointestinal diseases. This cross-sectional study was performed on 233 adult patients referring to the gastrointestinal clinic affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, in 2017. The Persian version of the SpREUK-P questionnaire was prepared through the forward-backward translation method. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Furthermore, the construct validity of the instrument was assessed via exploratory factor analysis, while convergent and discriminant validity were investigated using Spearman correlation. Cultural adaptation, linguistic equivalency, and content validity of the Persian version of the SpREUK-P questionnaire were approved by a ten-member team of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Content validity indices were more than 0.8% across all items. Cronbach's alpha coefficients in terms of importance and practices were 0.81 and 0.71, respectively. Furthermore, the Persian version of the SpREUK-P showed excellent convergent validity and moderate to excellent discriminant validity. The results of exploratory factor analysis showed that all items were loaded properly on their own subscales, except for two items in the practice aspect and one item in the importance aspect. In conclusion, this study showed that the developed Persian SpREUK-P questionnaire is appropriate for assessing spiritual/religious opinions in Iranian patients with chronic diseases.

This study addresses perceptions of spiritual dryness (a specific form of spiritual struggle) during the COVID-19 pandemic among Iranian Muslims (n = 362), and how these perceptions can be predicted. Spiritual dryness was perceived often to regularly by 27% and occasionally by 35%. Regression models revealed that the best predictors of spiritual dryness (SDS-7) were usage of mood-enhancing medications, loneliness/social isolation and praying as positive predictors, and being restricted in daily life concerns as negative predictor. The pandemic challenges mental stability of people worldwide and may also challenge trust in God. Reliable and humble support of people experiencing these phases is required.

Objective During the COVID-19 pandemic, tumor patients not only perceived fears and worries but were experiencing also positive changes as the perception of nature and silence, moments of wondering awe, and more intense relationships. We intended to analyze whether these perceptions may differ between patients from waves 1 and 2 of the pandemic. Methods Cross-sectional study at two time periods (May to June, sample 1) and September to November 2020 (sample 2) with standardized questionnaires (i.e. WHO-5, MLQ, PCQ-12). Results Patients from sample 1 (n = 292) and sample 2 (n = 221) did not differ with respect to gender, age, partner or tumor status. Most are still “irritated by statements about danger and course of the infection” (58%) and are “worrying to be infected and to have complicated course of disease” (55%). Neither their well-being nor meaning in life nor fears and worries were significantly different. In sample 2 patients, Worrying reflections and loneliness scored significantly lower, while their Perception of nature and silence was lower in trend only; more intense relationships are still relevant. Moments of wondering awe and religious trust were perceived less often during wave 2. Particularly religious patients scored stronger for Perception of nature and silence and Worrying reflections and loneliness. Conclusion Oncologists/psychologist have to know that patients’ situation has not changed within the time of pandemic and that they still require information, close support and encouragement to rely on their resources to cope. Perceived changes are reflecting coping strategies that could be trained to increase patients’ resilience during further pandemic waves.

In Adventists (n = 603) 45% were less effective and 55% more effective in coping with phases of spiritual dryness, particularly those with leading roles in the church. Strategies such as devotion/trust in God, private prayer/meditation/scripture reading, openness, talks with close others, and self-care were most often utilized. Their ability to cope was predicted best by low Acedia, Living from the Faith, low emotional exhaustion, well-being and having a duty in the church (R2 = .24). When these phases were overcome, several perceived spiritual depth and were able to help others all the more. Helpful strategies should be made available to support persons struggling with spiritual dryness.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Ebenso wie die World Psychiatric Association (WPA) und andere nationale psychiatrische Fachgesellschaften hat auch die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Nervenheilkunde (DGPPN) ein Positionspapier zu Religiosität und Spiritualität (R/Sp) in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie veröffentlicht, in dem sie Patientenzentrierung und spirituelle Kompetenz (SpK) der psychiatrischen Berufe fordert. Es ist bekannt, dass Kompetenzmangel das wichtigste Hindernis für die Implementierung von Spiritual Care (SpC) in die klinische Praxis darstellt. Fragestellung Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist die praxisnahe Untersuchung der SpK in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie. Wie schätzen psychiatrisch Tätige die SpK ihrer eigenen Berufsgruppe ein und welche Variablen beeinflussen dieses Urteil? Material und Methoden Insgesamt 391 psychiatrische Pflegekräfte, 75 Psychiater, 119 Therapeuten verschiedener Professionen und 62 andere (n = 647) aus Krankenhäusern in Deutschland und Österreich füllten den SpC Competency Questionnaire (SCCQ) aus. Ergebnisse Pflegekräfte, ältere und spirituell erfahrenere Personen schätzen die SpK der eigenen Berufsgruppe vergleichsweise höher ein und meinen seltener, diesbezüglich nicht zuständig zu sein. Pflegende nennen häufiger als andere Berufsgruppen das Fehlen geeigneter Räumlichkeiten als Hindernis für die Implementierung von SpC. Höhere Einschätzung der SpK der eigenen Berufsgruppe geht mit höheren Werten in den SCCQ-Faktoren „Selbsterfahrung und proaktive Öffnung“, „Team-Spirit“, „Wahrnehmungs‑/Dokumentationskompetenz“ einher. Diskussion Die Zuständigkeit der Gesundheitsberufe für SpC in Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie wird unter den deutschsprachigen psychiatrischen Berufsgruppen noch kontrovers diskutiert. Dies hängt mit mangelnder Kompetenz in diesem Feld zusammen.

Religious persons may experience phases of spiritual dryness, ranging from spiritual insecurity to a spiritual crisis. The authors analyzed the underlying causes of spiritual dryness in religious brothers and sisters who had lived for several decades in monastic structures. They performed qualitative interviews with 16 brothers and 14 sisters and asked for triggers of phases of spiritual dryness. In the content analysis of the 30 narratives, the identified categories were inductively structured and condensed to five main topics: (1) Loss of Relationship with God, (2) Loss of Orientation, (3) Loss of Depth, (4) Difficulties with the Religious Community, and (5) Intrinsic Factors: Overload, Uncertainty, Depression. These five main topics can be further categorized as extrinsic (God is not responding, others cause difficulties) and intrinsic (loss of orientation and depth, uncertainty, and depressive state) causes. A thorough discernment of the underlying ‘spirits’ (the triggers) is important to help and support individuals during these phases. It seems that no single (theological) interpretation of the causes is correct but that different interpretations might be true for the very diverse persons experiencing these phases of darkness, dryness, desolation, or loss of faith.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Spirituelle Bedürfnisse (spB) sind von einer religiösen Gebundenheit prinzipiell unabhängige wichtige Elemente des menschlichen Wesens. Sie können in Belastungssituationen, die z. B. durch das akute Auftreten einer Erkrankung ausgelöst werden, eine Ressource zur Bewältigung der Situation sein. Notaufnahmen sind Bereiche des Krankenhauses mit hoher medizinischer Leistungsdichte, was für Notfallpatienten eine besondere Unsicherheit hervorruft. Die vorliegende Studie untersucht erstmals das Vorliegen spiritueller Bedürfnisse eines Kollektivs von Patienten eines Notfallzentrums. Methoden Insgesamt 383 von 479 kontaktierten Patienten füllten die deutschsprachige Version des Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ-20) aus und stimmten der Erhebung demographischer und klinischer Daten zu. Die Auswertung umfasste deskriptive Statistiken, Korrelationsanalysen, univariate sowie multiple Varianzanalysen. Ergebnisse Bedürfnisse nach innerem Frieden und generative Bedürfnisse (etwas weitergeben, etwas für andere tun) waren stärker ausgeprägt als religiöse (rB) und existenzielle (eB) Bedürfnisse. Es fanden sich keine Zusammenhänge zwischen spB einerseits und Grund der Konsultation, Schweregrad und Anzahl der Komorbiditäten andererseits. Das Alter spielte keine ausschlaggebende Rolle; vielmehr waren die vorhandenen Bedürfnisse, insbesondere die rB, bei Frauen signifikant stärker ausgeprägt als bei Männern. Schlussfolgerung Auch in einer Notfallsituation sind Menschen bereit, ihre spirituellen Bedürfnisse zu äußern. Die frühzeitige Erhebung in einer Notaufnahme erfasst auch nichtmedizinische wichtige Aspekte des kranken Menschen und erlaubt die Berücksichtigung der erfassten Bedürfnisse. Ob das auf den weiteren Behandlungsverlauf und das Wohlbefinden der Patienten einen Einfluss hat, müssen weitere Studien klären.

The celibacy of Roman Catholic priests, in contrast to a single lifestyle, implies an existential choice for spiritual reasons as a conscious motivation. Nevertheless, several of them struggle with celibacy life style and some experience phases of spiritual dryness. So far it is unclear which role priestly celibacy may play in this context. We therefore intended to investigate whether and how celibacy on the one hand and supportive relations to other persons and feelings of loneliness on the other hand are connected to the experience of spiritual dryness among priests. As part of the German Pastoral Ministry Study, we analyzed data sets of 2531 priests. The results at first hand confirmed a correlation of spiritual dryness with a low commitment to celibacy and loneliness. Regression analyses revealed problems with sexuality and loneliness as an inability to be alone are relevant indicators of spiritual dryness. Our results point to two important concomitant mental conditions in a considerable number of cases: to continuous psychosexual problems and immaturities on one hand and to a basic incapacity to be alone, pointing to a serious structural deficit in the psychic life of some of our participants. Our study finally is a call to address these problems adequately, first of all for the mental health and spiritual truth of these persons, secondly also in the interest of all of those who priests are called to minister.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Phases of spiritual dryness may affect a person’s life orientation and sense of meaning, particularly of persons who work professionally for the sake of others and who rely on God as their main life orientation. This study investigated spiritual dryness in religiously motivated laypersons who are prosocially active volunteers. In particular, the study investigated which indicators of spirituality are related to spiritual dryness and also whether compassion and altruism are related to spiritual dryness. Data from 102 persons working for UNITALSI, an Italian volunteer organization, were collected using standardized questionnaires. Among these strongly religious laypersons, 12% reported that they experienced times of spiritual dryness (as measured with the Spiritual Dryness Scale) fairly often. Spiritual dryness was best predicted by low satisfaction with family life and by future prospects (which together explain 31% of the variance), followed by a low perception of the transcendent (an additional 8%) and high altruism (an additional 4% of explained variance). Most of those who found ways to deal with these feelings were inspired to help others more and perceived greater spiritual serenity and depth afterwards. It was found recently that for Catholic priests and non-ordained pastoral workers, the perception of the transcendent was the best (negative) predictor of spiritual dryness, but among Catholic laypersons investigated in this study, reduced life satisfaction was the best (negative) predictor. The data underline that laypersons who work voluntarily for others require spiritual guidance and support because spiritual dryness as a phase of spiritual crisis may impair their life satisfaction and may conflict with their voluntary engagement.

Although much is known about the frequency of the spiritual activities of pastoral workers, less is known related to how important specific spiritual and existential practices are to pastoral workers personally or existentially. This part of the German Pastoral Ministry Study analyzed (1) which forms of spiritual activities were regarded as important, (2) how the perceived importance of religious practices related to frequency of engagement in spiritual practices, and (3) how these practices contributed to the life satisfaction of ordained priests and of non-ordained pastoral workers. Participants included 1826 Catholic pastoral workers, composed of 65% priests and 35% (non-ordained) pastoral assistants and parish expert workers. Prosocial-Humanistic practices scored highest in importance, followed by Gratitude/Awe, Existentialistic practices, and Religious practices; specific forms of Spiritual Mind-Body practices were not relevant. Differences in the frequency and ascribed importance of spiritual practices between ordained and non-ordained pastoral workers were identified, as well as a surprising lack of connection between religious practices and their proclaimed importance, particularly of Prosocial-Humanistic and Gratitude/Awe practices. These findings may stimulate further research into the underlying causes of these differences between priests and other pastoral workers and between the frequency and importance of spiritual practices in all groups, which in the researchers’ opinion indicate challenging inconsistencies with regard to the ideals of religious vocations.

In this study, we examined a third variable effect on the relationship of personality traits, especially neuroticism and the salutogenetic concept sense of coherence. Specifically, we were interested in the moderating role of religious trust (RT) and transcendence perception operationalized as daily spiritual experiences (DSE) on the aforementioned relationship among religious individuals. We applied a cross-sectional study among a sample of 8594 pastoral workers using standardized questionnaires. Multiple regression and moderator analysis displayed the relationships between big five personality variables and sense of coherence. Neuroticism was identified as a negative predictor to sense of coherence, indicating impairment on this psychological resource. RT and DSE appear to function as moderators that buffer the negative effects of neuroticism on sense of coherence among religious persons. This is an interesting finding because people with expressions of neurotic personality tendencies often struggle to find helpful methods of coping and may find a helpful resource in the concepts studied here.

Background Spinal disc herniation is a frequently occurring degenerative disease of the spine. Many patients undergoing surgery suffer from radicular pain, known as memory pain, beginning from the third post-operative day. This results in the prescription of high-dose opioid medications. In homeopathy, Hypericum perforatum is known as a remedy for unbearable, shooting or jabbing pain especially when neural damage is involved. Reduction of pain after application of H. perforatum has been observed in previous studies. This study is aimed to investigate whether homeopathic H. perforatum in a potentisation of C200 leads to the reduction of post-operative pain and a decrease of pain medication compared to placebo. Methods/design This is a monocentric, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial conducted at the Department of Neurosurgery at the Community Hospital Herdecke, Germany. One hundred study participants are being recruited from inpatients undergoing elective, monosegmental, lumbar microdiscectomy surgery. Patients are randomly allocated to receive homeopathic treatment or placebo in addition to usual pain management after surgery. The primary clinical outcome is pain reduction after 3 days of inpatient care as measured by pain reduction of subjective pain on a 100-mm Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) at the third post-operative day. Statistical analysis will be carried out by means of a covariance model with adjustment for baseline values and patient expectation for all randomised patients. Discussion This study is the first trial of classical homeopathy that will evaluate the efficacy of homeopathic H. perforatum after monosegmental spinal microdiscectomy. We intend to clarify the potential of homoeopathic H. perforatum to reduce surgery-associated pain. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register, ID: DRKS00007913. Registered on 17 October 2014. EudraCT – Nr: 2013–001383-31. Data sets from the German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS, Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien) are updated every 4 weeks automatically to the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of World Health Organisation: http://apps.who.int/trialsearch/. Responsibilities Sponsor: Witten/Herdecke University Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50 58,448 Witten Deputy of the sponsor: Dr. Wolfgang Eglmeier (Head of Centre for Clinical Trials Witten/Herdecke) Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50 58,448 Witten E-mail: wolfgang.eglmeier@uni-wh.de Principal investigator: Prof. Dr. med. Wolfram Scharbrodt Community Hospital Herdecke Department for Neurosurgery Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4 58,313 Herdecke w.scharbrodt@gemeinschaftskrankenhaus.de Project coordination: Christa Raak Faculty for Health (Department for Integrative and Anthroposophic Medicine) University Witten/Herdecke gGmbh Gerhard-Kienle-Weg 4 58,313 Herdecke christa.raak@uni-wh.de Project manager/data analysis/biometry: Prof. Dr. Thomas Ostermann Faculty for Health (Department for Psychology and Psychotherapy) University Witten/Herdecke gGmbh Alfred-Herrhausen-Straße 50 58,448 Witten thomas.ostermann@uni-wh.de Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s13063-018-2631-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Studying 7390 Roman Catholic pastoral workers (42 % priests, 13 % deacons, 20 % pastoral assistants, 25 % parish expert workers), we intended to clarify (1) which forms of religious activities were practiced and were thus of importance to them, (2) whether these activities were related to their experience of the transcendent in daily life, and (3) and how these measures were related to their psychosomatic health, stress perception and life satisfaction. We found almost equal levels of the experience of the transcendent in daily life (DSES) and in private prayer, but there were differences, particularly with respect to public prayer forms (e.g., the Eucharist, Liturgy of the Hours). The frequency of spiritual practices showed either no significant or only some marginal associations with psychosomatic health, while DSES showed weak to moderate associations. This perception of transcendence was predicted best by private prayer and life satisfaction.

To satisfy the requirements regarding a precise analytical method for carbonated beverages, a sample preparation method to selectively and efficiently remove dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) from carbonated beverages is presented in this work. The key element of this development is a membrane module with semipermeable hollow fibre membranes. The CO2 permeates in the membrane module as the sample stream flows through the membrane into a stripping gas stream. A specifically developed phase splitter induces a two-phase flow (gas and liquid) of the beverage sample, which results in an accumulation of the dissolved CO2 in the gas phase. In addition to the development of the membrane decarbonation unit and the significant parameters, an extensive study comparing the unit with common decarbonation techniques has been carried out. More than 96 % of the CO2 was removed from the carbonated sample, resulting in a residual CO2 concentration of

Background Hospital staff experience high level of work stress and they have to find strategies to adapt and react to it. When they perceive emotional exhaustion and job dissatisfaction in response to constant work stress, one reaction might be emotional withdrawal. This emotional distancing can be seen as an adaptive strategy to keep ‘functionality’ in the job. Both, perception of emotional exhaustion and emotional distancing as a strategy, can be operationalized as ‘Cool Down’. We assume that work stress associated variables are positively associated with Cool Down reactions, while internal and external resources are negatively associated and might function as a buffer against emotional distancing. Moreover, we assume that the perception of stress and work burden might be different between nurses and physicians and women and men, but not their cool down reactions as a strategy. Methods Anonymous cross-sectional survey with standardized instruments among 1384 health care professionals (66% nurses, 34% hospital physicians). Analyses of variance, correlation and also stepwise regression analyses were performed to analyze the influence of demands and resources on Cool Down reactions. Results As measured with the Cool Down Index (CDI), frequency and strength of Cool Down reactions did not significantly differ between women and men, while women and men differ significantly for their burnout symptoms, stress perception and perceived work burden. With respect to profession, Cool Down and stress perception were not significantly different, but burnout and work burden. For nurses, “Emotional Exhaustion” was the best CDI predictor (51% explained variance), while in physicians it was “Depersonalization” (44% explained variance). Among putative resources which might buffer against Cool Down reactions, only team satisfaction and situational awareness had some influence, but not self-efficacy expectation. Conclusion The perceptions of emotional exhaustion and distancing of nurses and physicians (and women and men) seems to be different, but not their adaptive Cool Down reactions. Data would support the notion that a structural approach of support would require first to control and eliminate work stressors, and second a multifaceted approach to strengthen and support hospital staff’s resources and resilience. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-017-2445-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In a cross-sectional survey using standardized questionnaires such as the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ), we analyze unmet spiritual needs of 275 patients with chronic diseases from Catholic Poland. The factorial structure of SpNQ’s Polish version is similar to the primary version and has good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.89). Here, not only Inner Peace needs and Giving/Generativity needs were of relevance, but also Religious Needs and Existential Needs. These needs were not significantly associated with life satisfaction, but with interpretations of illness. To address such unmet needs, multi-professional teams should care for patients’ multifaceted needs.