Religion, spirituality, and patient-centered care

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is the growing number of voices within the health care community who openly acknowledge the importance of faith and prayer when it comes to healing and recovery.  In fact, it seems some medical professionals are slowly but increasingly becoming more receptive to the notion of including a spiritual aspect to patient care.  Of course, there are still traditionalists who aren’t as open to this idea, and some who don’t see religion or spirituality as factors at all in the healing process.

But what do patients say? 

I found some interesting answers in a study published recently by Springer's Journal of General Internal Medicine.  It’s called “Attention to Inpatients’ Religious and Spiritual Concerns: Predictors and Association with Patient Satisfaction.”

The study examines data collected between January 2006 and June 2009 on patients at the University of Chicago Medical Center.  It says that patients who had conversations about religion and spirituality with their health care team were likely to be more satisfied with their overall level of care.

That should be an attention getter!

Here are some of the numbers:  41% of patients surveyed indicated they wanted to discuss their religious or spiritual concerns with someone.  32% said some discussion did occur.   These discussions took place in various ways:  61% spoke with a chaplain; 12% with a member of his or her own religious community; 8% with a physician; and 12% with someone else.  Unfortunately, half of the patients who wanted to discuss religious or spiritual issues never had that discussion.

The study concludes with these remarks:

“Many more inpatients desire conversations about religious and spiritual concerns than actually experience such conversations.  Our findings suggest that physicians, nurses, healthcare organizations, and pastoral care departments may address an unmet need and simultaneously improve patient satisfaction by talking to patients about religious and spiritual concerns in the inpatient setting.”

I found this study to be quite revealing, to say the least.  For me, it highlights the important — yet often overlooked — role of religious and spiritual issues when it comes to quality, patient-centered care.  If this role were more widely addressed, then perhaps, as this study suggests, the health care community might also see a rise in patient satisfaction with their care.

And wouldn't this be a benefit to everyone?

“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”  (Jeremiah 8:22)

Comments

[Jass]

Thanks for sharing this interesting information about science, religion and spirituality!