Patients and Doctors on Faith - Six Quick Points

As the data continues to mount, there still remains great disagreement in the medical profession as to the influence of faith / religion / spirituality in the actual health or recovery of their patients. Yet, while this is playing out, the patient preference for a greater role of religion and/or spirituality in Physician-Patient relationships (both in discussion and practice) cannot be denied. These six points stood out to me from various studies done on the subject. (Links below) The studies referenced in the notes below did not specify any particular religion, but more religious / spirituality beliefs as a whole. Both Patients and Doctors were surveyed. 

1. 75% of the physicians surveyed said that their patients mention spiritual issues, such as God, prayer or the Bible. Only 6% of them believe religion and spirituality would help prevent negative clinical outcomes. 

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2. Out of four hundred and fifty-six patients that participated in one study, one third of them wanted to be asked about their religious beliefs during a routine office visit.

3. Concerning prayer or spiritual interaction with their physician, patient agreement increased strongly with the severity of the illness setting, with 19% of patients in agreement with physician prayer in a routine office visit, 29% agreement in a hospitalized setting, and 50% agreement in a near-death scenario.

4. Forty-six of the patients (10 percent) in number 2 were willing to give up time spent on medical issues in an office visit setting to discuss religious/spiritual issues with their physician. 

5. Of the clinicians that believe that spiritual interventions would help their patients, many admitted having little training in providing basic spiritual assessment or care. 

6. Anecdotal evidence indicates that clinicians that have received training on how to incorporate spirituality find it immediately helpful and do apply it to their practice.

There is quite a bit that could be brought out from these studies. Yet, the key aspect that I took from them is that although it may seem (as the mainstream media would have us to believe) that "the people" desire a public sector with it's political, spiritual, medical, and other areas sectioned off and separate, when it matters most and lives are on the line with people facing their own mortality, they overwhelmingly want their expression of spirituality to be acknowledged and incorporated by their physicians. Since the strength of our faith makes us what we are, we should never hesitate to keep it in focus in the health and recovery equation with our health professionals.  


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12534762/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16641663/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12008796/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1305900/