The Relationship of Spiritual Intelligence and Religious activities with happiness of midwives working in hospitals and health centers

Background & aim: Happiness is one of the most important human needs that play an influential role in the health of the individuals and society. In the recent years, the role of spirituality and religion as important aspects of life has been considered in the health-related issues. The physical and mental health of the midwives plays a significant role in the quality of patient care. In this regard the current study was designed to investigate the relationship of spiritual intelligence and religious activities with happiness among midwivesworking in hospitals and health centers. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 232 midwives working in the maternity hospitals and health centers affiliated to the Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, in 2015. The study sample was selected through cluster random sampling technique. The data were collected by the demographic and occupational characteristics questionnaire, life style questionnaire, Spiritual Intelligence Scale, and Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Data analysis was performed using the descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and multiple regression using SPSS, version 16. Results: According to the results, spiritual intelligence was directly correlated with happiness (r=0.63, P<0.0001) and religious activities (r=0.36, P<0.0001). In addition, there was a significant relationship between religious activities and happiness (r=0.29, P<0.0001). Conclusion: The findings revealed that happiness had a significant relationship with spiritual intelligence and religious activities. Therefore, we could improve happiness among the midwives by holding training and retraining courses with the purpose of involving in religious activities and promoting spiritual intelligence.