Role of spiritual beliefs and prayer in health promotion of chronic patients: A qualitative study

Aims: chronic diseases are the major cause of mortality all over the world. long-term nature of chronic diseases causes the goal of treatment in these diseases to be shifted from the elimination and eradication of the disease to the maintenance of the function. maintenance of the function requires the close communication of medical care, social support services, educational services and health promotion. the purpose of this study was the qualitative investigation of the role of spiritual beliefs in the promotion of patients’ health. methods: using the qualitative study approach of content analysis type, 35 patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes referred to the educational-treatment centers of tehran university of medical sciences, who had been chosen based on purposive sampling method, were interviewed. line by line analysis of the obtained information was done using constant comparison and information recall-writing methods. results: the 5 main categories of spiritual beliefs and lifestyle, spiritual beliefs and self-efficacy, spiritual beliefs as an adaptation mechanism, religious practices positive effects on mental health of patients and spiritual beliefs challenge were extracted from the data analysis. in some patients, spiritual beliefs decreased with increase in the duration of illness. conclusion: spiritual beliefs, in addition to facilitating the patients’ confrontation with the negative psychological effects of chronic disease, reduce the patients' depression and increase their satisfaction with life. spiritual beliefs not only affect the way of coping with the disease, but also play an important role in the lifestyle of patients and increase the patients' linkage to the treatment regimen by creating the feeling of purposefulness. religious activities are also used by patients as a consolatory agent to reduce anxiety, pain and depression.