Dear Colleagues,

Healthcare has evolved exponentially in the past thirty years. Societies have invested like never before in the training of health professionals, in technologies, research, prevention, and in the production of new medicines. The provision of safe and quality healthcare has also become a goal for governments. Evidence from research further shows that there is a need to consider other non-drug dimensions in clinical settings, such as interactions, cultural skills, and spirituality.

These are areas that definitely contribute to quality of life but there are still doubts about how to make them a reality in healthcare contexts. This will be a comparative volume that features spirituality in healthcare, across religions, and across clinical conditions.

This volume will bring together some of the most current and ground-breaking work on spirituality in healthcare. The focus is on identifying innovative ways of dealing with spirituality in healthcare—identifying spiritual needs, spiritual well-being, spiritually competent interventions, respect for spirituality as a way of dignifying care, and the relationship between spirituality and the improvement of clinical conditions.

Spirituality, religion, and culture are different realities, just as the ways in which societies relate to religion are different. Spirituality refers to a notion of transcendence, hope in difficult times, belief in relationships with others, and the acceptance of certain inevitable processes in life. This reality has an effective translation in health contexts, as shown by the research carried out—and which must be reinforced in this area. Respecting or offering spiritually competent care helps people to accept limitations resulting from chronic illnesses, dependence on self-care or how to deal with signs and symptoms. Studies on palliative and end-of-life care show how spirituality can provide comfort to sick people and their families. Other studies show that spirituality is relevant for the preservation of the ability to care for family caregivers and for the prevention of despair, psychological distress, and burden. Other studies emphasize the relationship between the provision of spiritually competent care and adherence to the therapeutic regime. In the area of oncology, there is evidence that spirituality can have relevant effects on the immune system. In patients with dementia, respect for spiritual dimensions can—albeit in a very tenuous way—help people to remember important realities in their life.

This Special Issue of Religions provides a space to analyze this relationship between spirituality and healthcare. It is intended that the included studies may be relevant for healthcare training. Last but not least, we intend to help institutions to improve their quality systems, including spiritually competent interventions in care protocols.

Prof. Dr. Wilson Correia de Abreu
Prof. Dr. Fiona Timmins
Guest Editors

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• adjustment to the disease
• competent spiritual interventions
• dependence on self-care
• end-of-life care
• healthcare
• palliative care and spirituality