Exploring the relationship between spirituality and health-promoting behaviors in sheltered homeless women

There is a significant knowledge gap related to spiritual well-being and health promoting behaviors among sheltered homeless women that potentially has implications for both nursing practice and education. The overall purpose of this study was to explicate the relationships between spirituality and health promoting behaviors among sheltered homeless women. To accomplish this purpose the following research hypotheses were tested: a high score on the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) will be associated with a high score on the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II); a high score on the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB) will be associated with high scores on the health promoting behavior subscales for sheltered homeless women; high scores on the Religious Well-Being Scale (RWB) will be associated with high scores on the health promoting behavior subscales for sheltered homeless women; high scores on the Existential Well-Being Scale (EWB) will be associated with high scores on the health promoting behavior subscales for sheltered homeless women.;A descriptive, correlational design was used to examine the relationship between spiritual well-being, religious well-being, existential well-being, and health promoting behaviors among sheltered homeless women living in an urban city in the western United States. A non-random convenience sample (N = 90) was obtained. Variables of the study were measured using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB), the Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II), and a researcher developed demographics form.;Results indicated that for this group of sheltered homeless women: there is a significant positive relationship between the overall SWB score and the composite score for the HPLP II; there was a significant positive relationship between the overall SWB score and five of the subscales of the HPLP II; there was a significant positive relationship between the Religious Well-Being (RWB) score and three of the subscales of the HPLP II; and there was a significant positive relationship between the Existential Well-Being score (EWB) and all six of the subscales of the HPLP II. Overall, the results of this study indicate that spirituality is correlated to health promoting behaviors for this sample of homeless women.