Learning Objective #1: 1. discuss the meaning of spirituality as evidenced in the themes that emerged from the data collected from healthy adults. | |||
Learning Objective #2: 2. describe the outcomes of a spiritual intervention as a health promotion and stress management strategy for healthy adults. |
Purpose: The purposes of this longitudinal, descriptive triangulated study were to (a) test the acceptability and feasibility of a six week spiritual intervention as a stress reduction strategy, (b) explore the effects of the intervention on measures of perceived stress, spiritual perspective and spiritual well being and (c) explore the meaning of spirituality in qualitative responses. Method: The sample consisted of 27 community-dwelling healthy adults enrolled in the study for 12 months. Participants were recruited from three local church congregations in a southeastern city. Findings: Six categories emerged from the qualitative data: a belief in a personal relationship with God, a connection and relationship with others, spiritual journey, guide or struggle, spiritual essence of self, spiritual expressed in actions, and integral spirituality. The survey data indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between perceived stress and spiritual well being at three time intervals. There were no significant changes in spiritual well being scores. Discussion: The 6-week spiritual group intervention was effective in reducing the stress of healthy adults. The findings of the study support a holistic view of health promotion and maintenance while recognizing the impact of spirituality on stress management.