Physicians' Opinions on Engaging Patients' Religious and Spiritual Concerns: A National Survey

Abstract

Context. There has been a sustained debate in the medical literature over whether physicians should engage with patients' religious and spiritual concerns. Objectives. This study explores what physicians believe about the relative importance and appropriateness of engaging with patients' spiritual concerns and physicians' choices of interventions. Methods. In 2010, a questionnaire was mailed to 2016 U.S. physicians with survey items querying about the relative importance of addressing patients' spiritual concerns at the end of life and the appropriateness of interventions in addressing those concerns. The survey also contained an experimental vignette to assess physicians' willingness, if asked by patients, to participate in prayer. Results. Adjusted response rate was 62% (1156/1878). The majority of physicians (65%) believe that it is essential to good practice for physicians to address patients' spiritual concerns at the end of life. Physicians who were more religious were more likely to believe that spiritual care is essential to good medical practice (odds ratio: 2.76, 95% CI 1.12e6.81) and believe that it is appropriate to always encourage patients to talk to a chaplain (odds ratio: 5.71, 95% CI: 2.28e14.3). A majority of the physicians (55%) stated that, if asked, they would join the family and patient in prayer. Physicians' willingness to join ranged from 67% when there was concordance between the physician's and the patient's religious affiliation to 51% when there was discordance. Conclusion. The majority of U.S. physicians endorse a limited role in the provision of spiritual care, although opinions varied based on physicians' religious characteristics.

Physicians’ Religious Characteristics and Their Perceptions of the Psychological Impact of Patient Prayer and Beliefs at the End of Life: A National Survey

“…Stratum weights were adjusted for these differences as detailed in a similar study. 10 Response rates did not differ significantly by age or region. Table 1 shows physicians' perceptions of religion on patients' psychological well-being, their sociodemographics, and their religious and spiritual characteristics.…”

“…In addition, to increase the power of other analyses that investigate the association of physicians' self-reported religious affiliation with medical practice and end-of-life issues, we used validated lists of Asian, Arabic, and Jewish ethnic surnames to increase the number of Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish physicians in the study. 10 Physicians received up to 3 separate mailings, with a $20 cash incentive in the first and an offering of $30 for participation in the third. All data were double keyed, cross-compared, and corrected against the original questionnaires.…”

“…A recent study by Smyre et al in 2018 reported that 65% of physicians believe it is essential to good practice for physicians to address patients' spiritual concerns at the end of life. 10 A recent systematic literature review revealed that 73% to 83% of doctors have reported that they often or always encourage patients' own religious/spiritual beliefs and practices. 11 But how physicians perceive the psychological impact of patients' specific religious practices and beliefs at the end of life remains unclear.…”

A Team-Based Early Action Protocol to Address Ethical Concerns in the Intensive Care Unit

“…29 Although the number of patients who received chaplain visits at all 3 time points was low in our study (23% before the intervention, 25% at 3 months after the intervention, and 33% at 6 months after the intervention), the protocol significantly increased these visits. Evidence from other studies indicates that although physicians and nurses value spiritual care, 30,31 providers rarely explore patients' spiritual needs, 32 despite evidence of the benefits of spiritual care such as improved quality of life 33 and increased satisfaction of patients. 34,35 Routinely assessing patients' The odds of receiving a visit from a chaplain increased significantly at 3 and 6 months after the ethics protocol was implemented compared with before the intervention.…”

A study of views of spiritual care among junior doctors at a district general hospital

“…1 However, in clinical practice most doctors do not usually address patients' spiritual needs and have a limited involvement in their spiritual care. 2 This aspect of care could be improved by active involvement and participation of local chaplaincy. 3 We undertook this study to determine awareness of chaplaincy services at our local district general hospital among the junior doctors working in adult medical and oncology wards, and also to assess their views on spiritual support in caring for patients with advanced cancers.…”