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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
09:00
Quantifying Pain Location and Intensity with Multimodal Pain Body Diagrams
Published on: July 7, 2023
Spirituality, religion, and pain
1School of Health Services Administration, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. anita.unruh@dal.ca
Summary
Spirituality and religion significantly influence how patients perceive and manage pain. Integrating spiritual care into healthcare can improve patient outcomes and inform nursing practice.
Area of Science:
- Health Research
- Nursing Research
- Medical Humanities
Background:
- Spirituality and health connections are increasingly vital in research.
- Limited research exists on spirituality, religion, and pain, despite historical links.
- Spiritual beliefs profoundly affect patient pain perception and management choices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the literature on spirituality and pain from a historical viewpoint.
- To analyze how spiritual and religious frameworks shape pain meaning, appraisal, and coping.
- To explore clinical and research implications for healthcare providers.
Main Methods:
- Literature review.
- Historical analysis of spirituality, religion, and pain concepts.
- Synthesis of findings on meaning-making, appraisal, coping, and management.
Main Results:
- Spiritual views historically shape pain understanding and suffering.
- Religion and spirituality provide frameworks for pain meaning construction.
- These frameworks influence patient appraisal, coping strategies, and pain management decisions.
Conclusions:
- Clinical implications include respectful patient communication regarding spirituality and pain.
- Integrating spiritual care into education, support, and pain management plans is recommended.
- Nurses should reflect on their own spirituality and consult pastoral care when appropriate.
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