Introduction

The first topic of this issue considers research relating to pediatrics (also ‘paediatrics’), which is a topic previously covered in JORH (JORH 60:1, 2022). The majority of the papers within the current issue relate to pediatric issues within Islamic countries (i.e., Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and Malaysia), while other papers discuss pediatric concerns in the US, Poland and Singapore.

The topics relating to pediatrics include: (i) religious affiliation and childbearing preferences of Iranian women; (ii) the association between spirituality and hope among Turkish women undergoing infertility treatment; (iii) ova retrieval for IVF in the light of Islamic Sharī ‘ah laws in Pakistan; (iv) management of gender determination of newborns and children with disorders of sex development using a multidisciplinary approach (from an Islamic perspective in Malaysia); (v) an exploratory study of the anticipated help-seeking needs and preferences of Protestant Christian women in Singapore with respect to a hypothetical abortion scenario; (vi) religious experience as a predictor of the meaning in life and life satisfaction in the lives of Polish women after a stillbirth; (vii) silent mourning over an infant death experience by Iranian parents and the influences of religious and socio-cultural factors; (viii) effect of Ramadan fasting in Turkey on fetal well-being and perinatal outcomes during the last-trimester of pregnancy; (ix) the spiritual and religious coping of mothers with disabled children in Turkey; (x) childhood abuse, goal-striving stress and self-esteem in the US; and finally for this section (xi) healing of body and soul: Islamic morality, practitioner obligations and extramarital pregnancy.

Students

The second topic in this issue concerns students. A previous issue of JORH acknowledged the increasing amount of research with regard to students and religion/spirituality (JORH 60:6, 2021). This section covers research relating to students from different regions of the world, namely the US, Chile, Turkey, Poland, Latin America, Iran, Canada, Indonesia, Paraguay, Italy and Australia.

Topics related to students covered in this issue include: (i) exploring sources of information and religious beliefs with regard to HPV and vaccination among Hispanic/Latino college students in the USA; (ii) the indirect relationship between spiritual experiences and subjective wellbeing through hope in Chilean students; (iii) religiosity, identity confusion, and psychological well-being in Turkish university students; (iv) determination of the spiritual support perceptions of students at a vocational school of health services in Turkey; (v) compassion and spirituality levels of Turkish nursing students toward organ donation; (vi) spirituality and the use of psychoactive substances among Polish students; (vii) perceived stress, religiosity, and substance use among African American and Latinx college students with asthma in the USA; (viii) effectiveness of psycho-religious sexuality education on anger and depression of Iranian female adolescents; (ix) the relationship between Sabbath practices and US, Canadian, Indonesian, and Paraguayan teachers’ burnout; (x) attachment to peers and parents in Italian Catholic seminarians; and finally, (xi) school influences on adolescent depression amongst Catholic, government, and private schools in Victoria, Australia.

Allied Health

A multidisciplinary topic that is seldom discussed, is spiritual care and the role of allied health care professionals. Rumbold (2018) notes within the textbook ‘Spiritual Care for Allied Health Practice’, the important transitionary role of allied health practitioners in addressing spiritual issues:

‘Within the health system in general, allied health practitioners are facilitators of transitions. Within clinical settings they are more specifically the agents of supporting transitions between contexts: hospital, home, aged care facility, rehabilitation centre, hospice. That is allied health practitioners frequently find themselves working with clients who are developing new or revised social engagement stories around their clinical experiences. Allied Health disciplines deal with specific aspects of MacIntyre’s question —"what then, am I to do?” (MacIntyre, 1981).

While two previous JORH issues have already considered the allied health profession of chaplaincy (JORH, 61:2, 2022; JORH 62:1, 2023), this issue examines spirituality and its relevance to the professions of psychology, occupational therapy, art therapy, dietetics, audiology, ophthalmology, podiatry, and exercise science.

Papers on allied health topics covered in this issue include: (i) a review of developments in history, method and practice in psychology and spirituality; (ii) an approach to psychological counselling from a religious worldview; (iii) a qualitative study of occupational therapists’ understanding of spirituality in South Africa; (iv) spirituality as a neglected aspect of occupational therapy practice; (v) spiritual care within dietetic practice; (vi) religiosity and spirituality in helping Polish subjects adapt to their tinnitus; (vi) the effect of calligraphy as an art therapy intervention on the anxiety and depression in adolescent psychiatric patients; (vii) a qualitative exploratory study of people with visual impairment in Polish religious communities; (viii) an ophthalmological lesson from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; (ix) a descriptive study of spiritual wellbeing and foot care practices in Turkish patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes; (x) and exploration of whether dance is closer to physical activity or spirituality; and (xi) the positive effects of religion and social ties on the health of former national football league athletes in the US.

COVID-19

COVID-19 continues to dominate much research as humanity struggles with its long-lasting effects. In this issue, papers on COVID-19 examine: (i) an assessment of compassion fatigue and empathy levels in nurses during the COVID-19 outbreak in Turkey; (ii) the impact of COVID-19 on religiousness in Italy; (iii) vaccination hesitancy among Greek Orthodox Christians; (iv) examination of the role of religion, faith and psychology in the context of Islamic civilizations and plagues; (v) narratives of religious experiences by selected Filipino celebrities who had COVID-19; (vi) a case of Brunei’s transformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic; and lastly, (vii) religious responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Slovakia and India.

Call for Papers—“Religion, Spirituality and Suicide” and “Spiritual Care for People with Parkinson’s Disease and their Caregivers”

While the Editors welcome all topics from potential and regular authors, we would particularly welcome submissions regarding an upcoming special issue on suicide and its prevention. In addition, in light of several recent publications (Otaiku, 2022, Paal et al. Paal et al., 2023, and Koenig, 2023), we are also calling for papers regarding Parkinson’s Disease. Please refer to the link: https://www.springer.com/journal/10943/updates/23471166. If you would like to make a submission, please submit via the Editorial Manager on the JORH web site: https://www.springer.com/journal/10943/submission-guidelines.