Eleventh International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

Spirituality has affected the lives of billions over the globe with beliefs and perceptions in different spiritual domains. The life of most individuals depends on their spirituality. Health disparities are synonymous to epidemics among the people who lack proper healthcare due to potential factors including race and ethnicity, cost, access to healthcare, and lack of insurance. It is well documented that chronic diseases such as diabetes, depression, hypertension have synchronicity with spirituality making it eminent to study. Little is known about spirituality, health, college students and their perception towards the relationship between spirituality and health disparities. This study focuses on both undergraduate and graduate students’ perception of the role of spirituality in relation to health. Data was collected from an approximate sample of 200 undergraduate and graduate students in a rural southeast regional university completing a 52-item health promotion survey via Qualtrics administered online. The tool gathers data on the health-promoting lifestyle, the areas of physical activity, nutrition, stress management, health responsibility, spiritual growth, and interpersonal relations. The collected data is pooled into the SPSS 23 statistical software for analysis using descriptive and factor analysis.