Top

Published in:

01-10-2018 | Original Paper

Spiritual Interventions in Veterans with PTSD: A Systematic Review

Published in: Journal of Religion and Health | Issue 5/2018

Abstract

This article reports the results of a systematic review on the effectiveness of religious/spiritually (R/S)-based interventions in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A total of 385 unique records were identified with eight meeting the inclusion criteria. Seven studies reported significant improvement in reported outcome measures demonstrating the effectiveness of R/S-based interventions in PTSD, with the eighth study reporting positive improvements. We conclude that the few existing published studies report significant benefits to veterans on several outcomes. R/S interventions for veterans with PTSD need to be further developed and tested to determine their efficacy and safety.

Available only for authorised users

Armijo-Olivo, S., Stiles, C. R., Hagen, N. A., Biondo, P. D., & Cummings, G. G. (2010). Assessment of study quality for systematic reviews: A comparison of the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool and the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool: Methodological research. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 18(1), 12–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2010.01516.x.CrossRefPubMed

Beck, D., Holt, L. C., Burkard, J., Andrews, T., Liu, L., Heppner, P., et al. (2017). Efficacy of the mantram repetition program for insomnia in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Advances in Nursing Science. https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000144.CrossRefPubMed

Bormann, J. E., Smith, T. L., Becker, S., Gershwin, M., Pada, L., Grudzinski, A. H., et al. (2005). Efficacy of frequent mantram repetition on stress, quality of life, and spiritual well-being in veterans. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 23(4), 395–414. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010105278929.CrossRefPubMed

Bormann, J. E., Thorp, S. R., Wetherell, J. L., Golshan, S., & Lang, A. J. (2013). Meditation- based mantram intervention for veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized trial. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027522.CrossRef

Boscarino, J. A. (2008). A prospective study of PTSD and early-age heart disease mortality among Vietnam veterans: implications for surveillance and prevention. Psychosomatic Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817bccaf.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

Buttner, M. M., Bormann, J. E., Weingart, K., Andrews, T., Ferguson, M., & Afari, N. (2016). Multi-site evaluation of a complementary, spiritually-based intervention for veterans: The mantram repetition program. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 22, 74–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2015.12.008.CrossRefPubMed

Chiu, L., Emblen, J. D., Van Hofwegen, L., Sawatzky, R., & Meyerhoff, H. (2004). An integrative review of the concept of spirituality in the health sciences. Western Journal of Nursing Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945904263411.PubMedCrossRef

Currier, J. M., Drescher, K. D., & Harris, J. I. (2014). Spiritual functioning among veterans seeking residential treatment for PTSD: A matched control group study. Spirituality in Clinical Practice. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000004.CrossRef

Dursa, E. K., Reinhard, M. J., Barth, S. K., & Schneiderman, A. I. (2014). Prevalence of a positive screen for PTSD among OEF/OIF and OEF/OIF-era veterans in a large population- based cohort. Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21956.PubMedCrossRef

Falsetti, S. A., Resick, P. A., & Davis, J. L. (2003). Changes in religious beliefs following trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1024422220163.PubMedCrossRef

Florez, I. A., Allbaugh, L. J., Harris, C. E., Schwartz, A. C., & Kaslow, N. J. (2017). Suicidal ideation and hopelessness in PTSD: Spiritual well-being mediates outcomes over time. Anxiety Stress and Coping, 31(1), 46–58. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615806.2017.1369260.CrossRef

Fontana, A., & Rosenheck, R. (2004). Trauma, change in strength of religious faith, and mental health service use among veterans treated for PTSD. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 579–584.CrossRefPubMed

Gonçalves, J. P., Lucchetti, G., Menezes, P. R., & Vallada, H. (2017). Complementary religious and spiritual interventions in physical health and quality of life: A systematic review of randomized controlled clinical trials. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186539.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Goodson, J., Helstrom, A., Halpern, J. M., Ferenschak, M. P., Gillihan, S. J., & Powers, M. B. (2011). Treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder in U.S. combat veterans: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Reports. https://doi.org/10.2466/02.09.15.16.PR0.109.5.573-599.PubMedCrossRef

Hammick, M., Dornan, T., & Steinert, Y. (2010). Conducting a best evidence systematic review. Part 1: From idea to data coding. BEME Guide No. 13. Medical Teacher. https://doi.org/10.3109/01421590903414245.CrossRefPubMed

Harris, J. I., Erbes, C. R., Engdahl, B. E., Thuras, P., Murray-Swank, N., Grace, D., et al. (2011). The effectiveness of a trauma focused spiritually integrated intervention for veterans exposed to trauma. Journal of Clinical Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20777.PubMedCrossRef

Hembree, E. A., Foa, E. B., Dorfan, N. M., Street, G. P., Kowalski, J., & Tu, X. (2003). Do patients drop out prematurely from exposure therapy for PTSD? Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOTS.0000004078.93012.7d.CrossRefPubMed

Hill, P. C., & Pargament, K. I. (2003). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of religion and spirituality. Implications for physical and mental health research. American Psychologist, 58, 64–74.CrossRefPubMed

Hodge, D. R. (2007). A systematic review of the empirical literature on intercessory prayer. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(2), 174–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731506296170.CrossRef

Kang, H. K., Natelson, B. H., Mahan, C. M., Lee, K. Y., & Murphy, F. M. (2003). Post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic fatigue syndrome-like illness among Gulf War veterans: A population-based survey of 30,000 veterans. American Journal of Epidemiology, 157, 141–148.CrossRefPubMed

Koenig, H. G. (2012). Handbook of religion and health. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Kopacz, M. S., Currier, J. M., Drescher, K. D., & Pigeon, W. R. (2016). Suicidal behavior and spiritual functioning in a sample of veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Journal of Injury and Violence Research. https://doi.org/10.5249/jivr.v8i1.728.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

Libby, D. J., Pilver, C. E., & Desai, R. (2013). Complementary and alternative medicine use among individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, And Policy. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027082.CrossRef

Maguen, S., Burkman, K., Madden, E., Dinh, J., Bosch, J., Keyser, J., et al. (2017). Impact of killing in war: A randomized, controlled pilot trial. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 73(9), 997–1012. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22471.CrossRefPubMed

Marmar, C. R., Schlenger, W., Henn-Haase, C., Qian, M., Purchia, E., Li, M., et al. (2015). Course of posttraumatic stress disorder 40 years after the Vietnam War: Findings from the National Vietnam veterans longitudinal study. JAMA Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2015.0803.PubMedCrossRef

Metraux, S., Clegg, L. X., Daigh, J. D., Culhane, D. P., & Kane, V. (2013). Risk factors for becoming homeless among a cohort of veterans who served in the era of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. American Journal of Public Health. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2013.301432.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

Military Leadership Diversity Commission. Issue Paper #22 (2010) Religious Diversity in the U.S. Military.

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 264–269, w264.CrossRef

Norman, S. B., Means-Christensen, A. J., Craske, M. G., Sherbourne, C. D., Roy-Byrne, P. P., & Stein, M. B. (2006). Associations between psychological trauma and physical illness in primary care. Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20129.PubMedCrossRef

Oman, D., & Bormann, J. E. (2015). Mantram repetition fosters self-efficacy in veterans for managing PTSD: A randomized trial. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. https://doi.org/10.1037/a003799410.1037/a0037994.supp.CrossRef

Ouzzani, M., Hammady, H., Fedorowicz, Z., & Elmagarmid, A. (2016). Rayyan—A web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4.PubMedPubMedCentralCrossRef

Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: Guilford.

Saunders, S. M., Miller, M. L., & Bright, M. M. (2010). Spiritually conscious psychological care. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 41(5), 355–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020953.CrossRef

Schaefer, F. C., Blazer, D. G., & Koenig, H. G. (2008). Religious and spiritual factors and the consequences of trauma: A review and model of the interrelationship. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine. https://doi.org/10.2190/PM.38.4.i.PubMedCrossRef

Schnurr, P. P., Lunney, C. A., Bovin, M. J., & Marx, B. P. (2009). Posttraumatic stress disorder and quality of life: extension of findings to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clinical Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.08.006.CrossRefPubMed

Schottenbauer, M. A., Glass, C. R., Arnkoff, D. B., Tendick, V., & Gray, S. H. (2008). Nonresponse and dropout rates in outcome studies on PTSD: Review and methodological considerations. Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2008.71.2.134.CrossRefPubMed

Shaw, A., Joseph, S., & Linley, P. A. (2005). Religion, spirituality, and posttraumatic growth: A systematic review. Mental Health, Religion & Culture. https://doi.org/10.1080/1367467032000157981.CrossRef

Smith-Macdonald, L., Norris, J. M., Raffin-Bouchal, S., & Sinclair, S. (2017). Spirituality and mental well-being in combat Veterans: A systematic review. Military Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7205/milmed-d-17-00099.PubMedCrossRef

Steenkamp, M. M., Litz, B. T., Hoge, C. W., & Marmar, C. R. (2015). Psychotherapy for military-related PTSD: A review of randomized clinical trials. JAMA. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2015.8370.PubMedCrossRef

Thomas, B., Ciliska, D., Dobbins, M., & Micucci, S. (2004). A process for systematically reviewing the literature: Providing the research evidence for public health nursing interventions. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 1(3), 176–184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1524-475x.2004.04006.x.CrossRefPubMed

Wahbeh, H., Shainsky, L., Weaver, A., & Engels-Smith, J. (2017). Shamanic healing for Veterans with PTSD: A case series. EXPLORE: The Journal of Science and Healing, 13(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2017.02.003.CrossRef

Watts, B. V., Schnurr, P. P., Mayo, L., Young-Xu, Y., Weeks, W. B., & Friedman, M. J. (2013). Meta-analysis of the efficacy of treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.12r08.PubMedCrossRef

Title: Spiritual Interventions in Veterans with PTSD: A Systematic Review
Publication date: 01-10-2018
Published in: Journal of Religion and Health / Issue 5/2018
Print ISSN: 0022-4197
Electronic ISSN: 1573-6571
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-018-0680-5

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Spiritual Interventions in Veterans with PTSD: A Systematic Review

Abstract

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 5/2018

American Muslim Physician Attitudes Toward Organ Donation

Psychiatry, Cultural Competency, and the Care of Ultra-Orthodox Jews: Achieving Secular and Theocentric Convergence Through Introspection

Is Minority Stress in the Eye of the Beholder? A Test of Minority Stress Theory with Christians

Health and Religions: A Bibliometric Analysis of Health Literature Related to Abrahamic Religions Between 1975 and 2017

Evaluation of Psychometric Properties of the Second Version of the Taqwa (Piety) Questionnaire in Bahasa Melayu

Applying Attention Restoration Theory to Understand and Address Clergy’s Need to Restore Cognitive Capacity