Abstract
Although a substantial amount of research has been conducted in the field of religion, spirituality, and health, much still needs to be done. Training of researchers to conduct studies in the field of religion, spirituality, and health is essential for continued academic and methodological rigor. Such training should be globally oriented to ensure both representation and evidence from non-western cultures which is currently lacking. While little attention is given to this area in mainstream contemporary academic curricula, some researchers in the field have provided exceptional leadership in designing programs to train future researchers. In this commentary, the authors who participated in one such training program at Duke University, offer their insights based on a qualitative descriptive analysis of survey responses from a sample of participants. These insights relate to participants’ perceptions of the most valuable experiences from a workshop on religion, spirituality, and health, and include recommendations for future content in training programs in this field. The multicultural aspect of the program with researchers, clinicians, and other professionals from 17 different countries was the most enriching aspect of the workshop. One of the key recommendations for future training efforts is to dedicate workshop time for participants to work collaboratively in the design and plan for international and interdisciplinary research projects with guidance from faculty.Please confirm if the author names are presented accurately and in the correct sequence (given name, middle name/initial, family name). Author 1 Given name: [Tobias Anker] Last name [Stripp]. Also, kindly confirm the details in the metadata are correct.They are correct.
References
Ahrenfeldt, L. J., Moller, S., Hvidt, N. C., VanderWeele, T. J., & Stripp, T. A. (2023). Effect of religious service attendance on mortality and hospitalisations among Danish men and women: Longitudinal findings from REGLINK-SHAREDK. European Journal of Epidemiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-023-00964-y
Balboni, T. A., VanderWeele, T. J., Doan-Soares, S. D., Long, K. N. G., Ferrell, B. R., Fitchett, G., Koenig, H. G., Bain, P. A., Puchalski, C., Steinhauser, K. E., Sulmasy, D. P., & Koh, H. K. (2022). Spirituality in serious illness and health. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2022.11086
Habermas, J. (2008). Notes on post-secular society. New Perspectives Quarterly, 25(4), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5842.2008.01017.x
Hill, P. C., Pargament, K., II., Hood, R. W., McCullough, J. M. E., Swyers, J. P., Larson, D. B., & Zinnbauer, B. J. (2001). Conceptualizing religion and spirituality: points of commonality, points of departure. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 30(1), 51–77. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00119
Koenig, H. G. (2008). Concerns about measuring “spirituality” in research. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 196(5), 349–355. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31816ff796
Koenig, H. G., Hamilton, J. B., & Doolittle, B. R. (2021). Training to conduct research on religion, spirituality and health: A commentary. Journal of Religion & Health, 60(3), 2178–2189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01193-x
Koenig, H. G., King, D. E., & Carson, V. B. (2012). Handbook of Religion and Health (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Koenig, H. G., VanderWeele, T. J., & Peteet, J. R. (2023). Handbook of Religion and Health (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
MacLean, C. D., Susi, B., Phifer, N., Schultz, L., Bynum, D., Franco, M., Klioze, A., Monroe, M., Garrett, J., & Cykert, S. (2003). Patient preference for physician discussion and practice of spirituality. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18(1), 38–43. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.2003.20403.x
McCord, G., Gilchrist, V. J., Grossman, S. D., King, B. D., McCormick, K. E., Oprandi, A. M., Schrop, S. L., Selius, B. A., Smucker, D. O., Weldy, D. L., Amorn, M., Carter, M. A., Deak, A. J., Hefzy, H., & Srivastava, M. (2004). Discussing spirituality with patients: A rational and ethical approach. Annals of Family Medicine, 2(4), 356–361. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.71
Nissen, R. D., & Andersen, A. H. (2021). Addressing religion in secular healthcare: Existential communication and the post-secular negotiation. Religions. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13010034
Puchalski, C. M., Vitillo, R., Hull, S. K., & Reller, N. (2014). Improving the spiritual dimension of whole person care: Reaching national and international consensus. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 17(6), 642–656. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2014.9427
RMC. (2022). SurveyXact. Denmark: Ramboll Management Consulting. https://www.surveyxact.com/
Sallnow, L., Smith, R., Ahmedzai, S. H., Bhadelia, A., Chamberlain, C., Cong, Y., Doble, B., Dullie, L., Durie, R., Finkelstein, E. A., Guglani, S., Hodson, M., Husebø, B. S., Kellehear, A., Kitzinger, C., Knaul, F. M., Murray, S. A., Neuberger, J., O’Mahony, S., & Wyatt, K. (2022). Report of the lancet commission on the value of death: Bringing death back into life. The Lancet, 399(10327), 837–884. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(21)02314-x
Sandelowski, M. (2000). Whatever happened to qualitative description? Research in Nursing & Health, 23(4), 334–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/1098-240x(200008)23:4%3c334::aid-nur9%3e3.0.co;2-g
Sloan, R. P., Bagiella, E., & Powell, T. (1999). Religion, spirituality, and medicine. Lancet, 353(9153), 664–667. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(98)07376-0
Stripp, T. A., Wehberg, S., Büssing, A., Koenig, H., Balboni, T. A., VanderWeele, T. J., Søndergaard, J., & Hvidt, N. C. (2023). Spiritual needs in Denmark: a population-based cross-sectional survey linked to Danish national registers. Lancet Regional Health - Europe, in press. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100602
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Harold Koenig and other contributing faculty members for a wonderful workshop experience that we all benefitted from. Further, the authors thank the participants who responded to the survey but did not have time to partake in the writing of this manuscript: Michelle Solomon, Nadzirah Ahmad Basri, Natasha Torlay, James Henrich, and Chaimaa Aroui.
Funding
No funding was provided for this work.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests to report.
Ethical Approval
No ethical approval was needed for this exploration.
Consent to Participate
All participants consented to participate before filling out the survey.
Consent for Publication
All authors have consented to publish the submitted manuscript.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stripp, T.A., Long, E.C., Mosashvili, K. et al. Training Researchers in the Field of Religion, Spirituality, and Health: Experiences from a Workshop in the United States and Recommendations for Future Workshop Curricula. J Relig Health 62, 3520–3528 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01812-9
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-023-01812-9