Reference no: EM133660122
Assignment:
Option 1: How might health outcomes be affected by the religious practices of members of varying religions in the United States? Do a little digging: What are some services that religious organizations provide in your area that help people improve their health?
Religious spirituality is an important social determinant of mental health outcomes, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. A variety of religious spiritual practices, activities, and resources based on specific religious spiritual beliefs are positively associated with positive mental health outcomes for members of those religious groups. Luccheti et al. (2021) indicate that religious spirituality provides individuals with mental health relief and reprieve especially due to COVID-19 mitigation protocols, particularly social isolation. There is a high level of acceptance of religious spirituality, especially spiritual beliefs, and the application and acceptance of these spiritual beliefs provide comfort to individuals and alleviate the mental health challenges caused by COVID-19 (Luccheti et al., 2021). Religious spiritual resources and activities are significantly correlated with lower levels of fear, sadness, and worry and increased hope in varying degrees among participants in Brazil.
Religious organizations in the United States have recognized the importance of religious spirituality as a key pillar of public and community health promotion, especially during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As a result, most faith-based organizations have embraced a variety of mental health services, such as providing counseling sessions, conducting public mental health awareness campaigns with healthcare organizations, and training and educating clergy on mental health issues. For instance, in Boston, Massachusetts, the Emmanuel Gospel Center (2020) in Dorchester took a hands-on approach to addressing mental health among its congregants and the community by providing self-care and mental health resources.
The Emmanuel Gospel Center (2020) provided emotional self-care tools, teaching series 'Jesus + My Mental Health, ' webinars on how to cope with Coronavirus, promoted awareness on crisis hotlines as well as other Christian counseling resources on grief, stress, loss, and post-trauma and healing. These mental health resources profoundly impacted those individuals' sense of well-being, especially how they feel about their Coronavirus situations. They also encourage individuals to pursue positive health behaviors and social support during the pandemic.
References
Lucchetti, G., Góes, L. G., Amaral, S. G., Ganadjian, G. T., Andrade, I., Almeida, P. O. D. A., ... & Manso, M. E. G. (2021). Spirituality, religiosity and the mental health consequences of social isolation during Covid-19 pandemic. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67(6), 672-679.
Emmanuel Gospel Center. (2020). COVID-19 CHURCHES: SELF CARE & MENTAL HEALTH. God's love of Boston.