Physician Approaches To Patient Spirituality Vary According To Doctors' Religiou

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Physician Approaches To Patient Spirituality Vary According To

Doctors' Religious Characteristics

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=42627

Although more than nine out of ten doctors believe it is appropriate

to discuss religious or spiritual issues when a patient brings them

up and three out of four encourage patients' religious beliefs and

practices, only half inquire, even occasionally, about a patient's

faith, report researchers from the University of Chicago in the May

issue of the journal Medical Care.

Only one out of ten physicians routinely mentions his or her

religious beliefs and experiences to patients. Fewer than one out of

three endorses praying with patients. Four out of five say they do

so " rarely or never. "

But if half of physicians do not inquire about religious belief, the

other half do. Ten percent of them do so " always. " And if four out of

five physicians rarely or never pray with patients, one out of five

do, " sometimes or often. "

" We found no consensus among physicians about what is customary or

appropriate, " said study author Farr Curlin, M.D., assistant

professor of medicine at the University of Chicago. " Despite efforts

to standardize many aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, " he

said, " patients are likely to encounter very different approaches. "

These differences in attitude and behavior closely reflect

physicians' personal religious and spiritual characteristics, the

study found. " The close ties between belief and behavior, " Curlin

said, " suggests that physicians are unlikely to reach agreement any

time soon about what is suitable. "

The researchers surveyed 2,000 practicing U.S. physicians from all

specialties about their own attitudes and how they affected the

clinical encounter. They asked physicians about their religious

traditions, the extent to which they try to live out the teachings of

those traditions, and about barriers that might hinder discussion of

religious or spiritual topics with patients.

Of the 1,144 responding physicians, 18 percent described themselves

as being neither religious nor spiritual, and 17 percent identified

themselves as being both highly religious and highly spiritual.

Thirty-nine percent of the physicians were Protestants, 22 percent

Catholics, 16 percent Jewish, 13 percent other religion, and 11

percent reported no religion.

Physicians who said they were highly religious and spiritual differed

from less religious and spiritual doctors on every attitude and

behavior. Seventy-six percent of the most religious doctors ask about

their patients' beliefs compared to 23 percent of minimally religious

physicians. Seventy-six percent of highly religious doctors pray with

patients compared to 30 percent of less religious physicians.

Although the level of religious commitment was more important than

the particular religious tradition, Protestants were the most likely

to inquire about a patient's beliefs and the most likely to pray with

patients.

For patients, religion often comes to the fore during an illness.

Some doctors have argued that physicians should honor those feelings

as a part of patient-centered care, maintaining that such

discussions, and even prayer, can be attentive and comforting. Thirty-

eight percent of those surveyed thought doctors spent too little time

addressing spiritual needs.

Others see it as a violation of boundaries. Because religion, like

politics, can be divisive, many insist that physicians should avoid

such topics. Nevertheless, only one percent of doctors thought they

spent too much time in such discussions.

A previous study by Curlin's team found that physicians were more

religious than expected. Seventy-six percent of doctors believe in

God, 59 percent believe in some sort of afterlife, and 55 percent say

their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine. Most

doctors, though, were hesitant to " apply their religious beliefs to

other areas of life, " the researchers found. Sixty-one percent said

say they " try to make sense " of a difficult situation and " decide

what to do without relying on God, " versus only 29 percent of the

general population.

" What this survey told us, " said Curlin, " is that we don't entirely

agree. " Perhaps that is OK, he suggests, presenting patients with

options. But other than by word of mouth, patients would have no way

of choosing physicians who shared their beliefs.

Discussions of the appropriateness of such matters in the clinical

encounter, the study's authors conclude, " will need to grapple with

these deeply rooted differences among physicians. "