title: Spirituality: A Panacea for Patients Coping with Heart Failure.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many patients with heart failure grapple with related problems that threaten their feeling of well-being and quality of life. Patients look for ways to cope with the new situation. The present study aimed to explore religious coping from the perspective of patients with heart failure.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative study used the content analysis of the semi-structured interviews. The data were collected from 18 participants referring to training hospitals in Kerman University of Medical Sciences in southeastern Iran. The data were analyzed using Lundman and Graneheim qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main theme of "Spiritual coping, a dominant strategy" was extracted with two categories: 1- "religious belief" having the sub-categories of "inner faith" and "search of meaning" 2- "connection to God as the supreme power" with sub-categories of "seeking healing through supplication and rituals", "worship as a barrier to the flood of problems", and "submission to and trust in God".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that a spiritual strategy helps the patients effectively to cope with heart failure. Patients learn to use religious beliefs and faith to accept the reality of the disease and its stages and to manage their condition with patience, tolerance, and hope calmly and confidently for a bright future.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Research Center, Department of Medical Surgical, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Parvin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mangolian Shahrbabaki
authors.affiliation: Nursing Research Center, Department of Medical Surgical, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
authors.forename: Esmat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nouhi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Surgical, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran.
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kazemi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Fazlollah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ahmadi
keywords:  Chronic disease;  Coping;  Qualitative study;  Spirituality; Heart failure