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The Effect of Religious-Spiritual Education and Care on the Life Quality of Iranian Elderly: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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Abstract

Aging causes the reduction in physical and physiological strength and an increase in the odds of affliction with chronic physical and mental diseases ultimately affecting the quality of life (QoL). So far, several primary studies have been conducted on the impact of religious-spiritual education and care on the QoL of the elderly. However, to the best of our knowledge, a study that compiles and represents these findings in a published paper is lacking. Therefore, the current study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the effect of religious-spiritual education and care on the QoL of the elderly population. To access studies related to the aim of the study, SID, MagIran, IranMedex, IranDoc, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched. The search was done using relevant and validated keywords with MeSH/Emtree without time limitations until December 2021. The qualitative appraisal of the papers was done using the JBI checklist. To estimate the heterogeneity of studies, I2 index was used, and to combine the data and carry out a meta-analysis, Random Effects model was used. In the primary research, 1065 studies were found. The omission of the redundant cases led to a total number of 12 papers with a sample size of 317 in the intervention group and 321 in the control to be included in the meta-analysis. After the intervention, the mean score of QoL showed a significant increase by 1.42 ± 0.31 with a Confidence Interval of 95% (P<0.001). Meta-regression results showed that the increase in the year of conducting the study, and the number of intervention sessions, that the standardized mean difference had a decreasing trend, and that with the increase in the average age of the elderly, there was a rising trend (P<0.001). Therefore, it seems that the application of religious-spiritual education and care could be part of a program to improve the QoL of the elderly.

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Availability of Data and Materials

Datasets are available through the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

SID:

Scientific information database

WoS:

Web of science

MeSH:

Medical subject headings

PRISMA:

Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis

JBI:

Joanna Briggs institute

SAQ:

Seattle angina questionnaire

CASP-19:

Control, autonomy, self-realization and pleasure

WHO:

World health organization

SF-36:

Short-form health survey questionnaire

LSI-Z:

Life satisfaction index-Z

CQOLS:

Caregiver quality of life scale

SWLS:

Satisfaction with life scale

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Acknowledgements

This study is the result of research project No. 50000873 approved by Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. We would like to thank the esteemed officials of that center for accepting the financial expenses of this study. We also thank the officials of the Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Center (SYRMAN) for their guidance and advice in conducting this research.

Funding

By deputy for Research and Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (IR) (50000873). This deputy has no role in the study process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nursing Department, Nursing and Midwifery School, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Azam Faraji

  2. Midwifery Department, Nursing and Midwifery School, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Mojgan Khalily

  3. Medical Biology Research Center, Health Technology Institute, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Zahra Al-sadat Naghibzadeh

  4. Sarpol-e Zahab Branch, Payame Noor University, Sarpol-e Zahab, Iran

    Farahnaz Kazeminia

  5. Student Research Committee, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran

    Mohsen Kazeminia

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  1. Azam Faraji
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  4. Farahnaz Kazeminia
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Contributions

MK and AF contributed to the design, MK and MKh participated in most of the study steps. MK, ZS and AF prepared the manuscript. AF, MKh and MK assisted in designing the study, and helped in the interpretation of the study. All authors have read and approved the content of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mohsen Kazeminia.

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Ethics approval was received from the ethics committee of deputy of research and technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (IR.KUMS.REC.1400.676).

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Faraji, A., Khalily, M., Naghibzadeh, Z.As. et al. The Effect of Religious-Spiritual Education and Care on the Life Quality of Iranian Elderly: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Relig Health 62, 3042–3069 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01796-6

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