Religious Commitment and Health Status: A Review of the Research and Implications for Family Medicine

Matthews, Dale A.; McCullough, Michael E.; Larson, David B.; Koenig, Harold G.; Swyers, James P.; Milano, Mary Greenwold

doi:10.1001/archfami.7.2.118

Cited by 277 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…This should be investigated in future studies, but our finding does both identify another high-risk group and suggest that intervention may be strategically delivered via the workplace. Consistent with the cross-national literature (Bazargan, Sherkat, and Bazargan, 2004;Galen and Rogers, 2004;Matthew et al, 1998), religious involvement was associated with lower prevalence of hazardous use of all substances. Religion may operate as a protective factor by discouraging drinking and improving coping and social support (Koenig, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Prevalence and Correlates of Substance Use Among South African Primary Care Clinic Patients

Ward

Mertens

Flisher

et al. 2008

Substance Use & Misuse

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We aimed to assess prevalence and correlates of hazardous use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs in a primary care population in Cape Town, South Africa. Stratified random sampling was used to select 14 of the 49 clinics in the public health sector in Cape Town, and every "nth" patient, with those ages 18-25 oversampled (N = 2,618). Data were collected from December 2003 through 2004, using the World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test. Hazardous use of tobacco was most common, followed by alcohol and then other drugs. Hazardous tobacco use was associated with the 18-25 years age group, no religious involvement, high school completion, and higher stress. Hazardous alcohol use was associated with male gender, younger men, no religious involvement, employment, some high school education, and higher stress. Hazardous use of other drugs was associated with Colored (mixed) race (particularly among men), no religious involvement, employment, and stress. For all substances, women, particularly Black women, had the lowest rates of hazardous use. Although the study is cross-sectional, it does identify groups that may be at high risk of substance misuse and for whom intervention is urgent. Because prevalence of substance use is high in this population, routine screening should be introduced in primary care clinics. (Parry, 2005;Sitas et al., 2004). Cannabis and methaqualone are the most frequently identified illicit drugs in drugrelated arrests, psychiatric diagnoses, and trauma patients (Parry et al., 2002), but treatment demand for cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine use is increasing Parry, Myers, and Plüddemann, 2004).Primary health care services provide an advantageous location for intervening in substance use (Whitlock, Polen, Green, Orleans, and Klein, 2004;Fleming et al., 2002). In South Africa, the public health sector is the main provider of primary care (Health Systems Trust, 2004), yet no data are available on prevalence of substance misuse among South African patients.Risk factors are those associated with increased likelihood of negative health behaviors or outcomes, whereas protective factors are those that are associated with increased likelihood of positive health behaviors or outcomes, or with decreased likelihood of negative health behaviors or outcomes (Kirby, 2001). Although the association with disease occurrence may not be causal, such correlates are useful for identifying high-risk groups or factors that may be usefully targeted in intervention strategies. Risk and protective factors influencing substance use have not been much studied in the developing world (De Lima, Dunn, Novo, Tomasi, and Reisser, 2003).Personal characteristics identified as risk factors may include age, race, and gender. In South Africa, the racial categories defined under apartheid-Black, Colored (mixed race), Indian, and White-have a long association in South Africa with access both to alcohol and to treatment (Mager, 2004). Different race groups may demonstrate differen...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Prevalence and Correlates of Substance Use Among South African Primary Care Clinic Patients

Ward

Mertens

Flisher

et al. 2008

Substance Use & Misuse

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“…The literature is abundant with studies indicating a positive association between religious involvement and health or between spirituality and well-being among dying patients. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Pediatricians whose beliefs mirrored this literature were more likely to make SR inquiries and more likely to experience patient SR requests. Several studies have also found that most patients (in nonpediatric settings) want their physicians to be able to respond to SR issues, particularly patients with strong SR orientation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 Research has documented positive relationships between religious behavior and health, [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] and the majority of patients seem to want their physicians to be able to address the SR aspects of the illness experience. 9 -11 Although many physicians accept the idea that patient religiousness or spirituality can positively affect health, most do not initiate SR inquiry with patients.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2 In addition, the life philosophy engendered by SR traditions (eg, feelings of optimism, love, hope, and solicitude) and the explanatory role of SR in providing meaning during existential crises (especially those prompted by loss of health and life) may have relevance to illness outcomes. 2 Overall, research on the prevalence of and recovery from physical and mental illness is more supportive of the positive role of SR in health than on its negative potential, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] although it must be recognized that 1) some researchers have raised questions about the validity of this interpretation 17 and 2) these studies have not been done with pediatric populations.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Pediatrician Beliefs About Spirituality and Religion in Medicine: Associations With Clinical Practice

2003

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ABSTRACT. Objectives. Identify pediatrician (faculty and resident) beliefs about spirituality and religion (SR) in medicine and the relationship of those beliefs to SR behavior and experiences in clinical practice.Methods. A self-report questionnaire was administered to full-time pediatric faculty (N ‫؍‬ 65) and residents (N ‫؍‬ 56) of an urban children's hospital affiliated with a school of medicine. The response rate was 70.8% among faculty (n ‫؍‬ 46) and 78.6% among residents (n ‫؍‬ 44). Respondents indicated the extent of their SR inquiry and the frequency of their SR experiences (requests by patients or families to discuss SR or pray), routinely and during health crisis, and rated 19 belief statements about SR in pediatrics.Results. Few pediatricians routinely ask about SR issues. Faculty were more likely than residents to ask about religious affiliation, whereas residents were more likely to be asked to pray during health crises, to believe that SR has health relevance, and to perceive pediatrician-initiated prayer as appropriate. Composite scores indicated that physicians who did not expect negative patient reactions to SR inquiry and prayer, who believed more strongly that SR is relevant to pediatric outcomes, and who felt more capable with SR inquiry were more likely to engage in SR inquiry and to experience SR requests.Conclusions. Pediatrician beliefs with respect to health relevance of SR, patient reactions to SR inquiry, and physician capabilities regarding SR in the clinic are strongly related to their clinical practice concerning SR inquiry and experiences. Correction of physician misperceptions about SR issues and incorporation of religious sensitivity into physician training may remove barriers to both patient and physician SR inquiry. Pediatrics 2003;111:e227-e235. URL: http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/ content/full/111/3/e227; pediatrics, religion in medicine, physician's role, attitude of health personnel, internship and residency, medical education.ABBREVIATIONS. SR, "spiritual and religious" or "spirituality and religion"; SD, standard deviation.

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“…R elationships between spirituality and mortality have been investigated in medical populations but remain controversial (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). Variable associations have been found depending on definitions of spirituality and patient populations studied (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Spirituality, Social Support, and Survival in Hemodialysis Patients

Spinale

Cohen

Khetpal

et al. 2008

Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology

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Background and objectives:No studies have evaluated the relationship among spirituality, social support, and survival in patients with ESRD. This study assessed whether spirituality was an independent predictor of survival in dialysis patients with ESRD after controlling for age, diabetes, albumin, and social support.Design, setting, participants, & measurements: A total of 166 patients who had ESRD and were treated with hemodialysis completed questionnaires on psychosocial variables, quality of life, and religious and spiritual beliefs. The religious variables were categorized into three scores on a 0 to 20 scale (low to high levels): Spirituality, religious involvement, and religion as coping. Social support was assessed using the Multidimensional Scale for Perceived Social Support. Analyses were also performed including and excluding patients with HIV infection. Religious variables were categorized on the basis of means, medians, and tertiles.Results: In analyses that used religious variables, only the responses on the spirituality scale split at the mean were associated with survival. The association of other religious variables with survival did not reach significance. Social support correlated with spirituality, religion as coping, and religious involvement measures. Only social support and age were associated with survival when controlling for diabetes, albumin concentration, HIV infection, and spirituality.Conclusions: These data suggest that the effects of spirituality may be mediated by social support. Larger, multicenter, prospective studies that use well-validated tools to measure religiosity and spirituality are needed to determine whether there is an independent association of spirituality variables with survival in patients with ESRD.

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Religious Commitment and Health Status: A Review of the Research and Implications for Family Medicine

Cited by 277 publications

References 52 publications

Prevalence and Correlates of Substance Use Among South African Primary Care Clinic Patients

Prevalence and Correlates of Substance Use Among South African Primary Care Clinic Patients

Pediatrician Beliefs About Spirituality and Religion in Medicine: Associations With Clinical Practice

Spirituality, Social Support, and Survival in Hemodialysis Patients

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