The Role of Spirituality Healing with Perceptions of the Medical Encounter among Latinos

Abstract

Background Little is known about the relationship between spirituality healing and perceptions about the medical encounter among Latinos. Objectives To examine the association between spirituality healing and attitudes of self-reported perceptions about the medical encounter. Design A cross-sectional telephone survey. Participants 3,728 Latinos aged ≥18 years residing in the United States from Wave 1 of the Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Latino Health Survey. Measurements Dependent variables were ever prayed for healing (yes/no), ever asked others to pray for healing (yes/no), considered important spiritual healing (very vs. somewhat or not important), and ever consulted a ‘ curandero ’ (folk healer in Latin America) (yes/no). The primary independent variables were feelings about the last time seeing a Doctor (confused by information given, or frustrated by lack of information) and perception of quality of medical care (excellent, good, fair or poor) within the past 12 months. Results Six percent of individuals reported that they had ever consulted a curandero , 60% prayed for healing, 49% asked others to pray for healing, and 69% considered spiritual healing as very important. In multivariable analyses, feeling confused was associated with increased odds of consulting a curandero (OR = 1.58; 95% CI, 1.02–2.45), praying for healing (OR = 1.30; 95% CI, 1.03–1.64), asking others to pray for healing (OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.03–1.62), and considering spiritual healing as very important (OR = 1.30; 95% CI, 1.01–1.66). Feeling frustrated by a lack of information was associated with asking others to pray for healing (OR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.04–1.60). A better perception of quality of medical care was associated with lower odds of consulting a curandero (OR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70–0.98). Conclusion Feelings about the medical encounter were associated with spirituality healing, praying for healing, and asking others to pray for healing. Feeling confused and perception of poor quality of medical care were associated with consulting a curandero .

Praying for Health by Older Adults in the United States: Differences by Ethnicity, Gender, and Income

“…Revisiting the hypotheses that guided our research, the results were consistent with our first expectation, that African Americans would be more likely to pray for health than whites (e.g., Baker, 2008;Barksdale et al, 2009;Brown et al, 2007;Gillum & Griffith, 2010;Johnson et al, 2005;Wilkinson et al, 2008). Also consistent with our expectation, we found that Hispanics were more likely to pray for health than whites (e.g., Gillum & Griffith, 2010;Reyes-Ortiz et al, 2009). The results were also consistent with our second hypothesis, that women would be more likely than men to pray for health (e.g., Brown et al, 2009;Gillum & Griffith, 2010).…”

“…Spirituality and prayer are important components in healing therapies used by Hispanics (Graham et al, 2005;Mikhail, Wali, & Ziment, 2004;Reyes-Ortiz, Rodriguez, & Markides, 2009). Reyes-Ortiz et al (2009) conduced a cross-sectional telephone survey of Hispanics age 18 and older living in the U.S. (n = 3,728), finding that 49% asked others to pray for their health, and 60% prayed for healing.…”

“…Reyes-Ortiz et al (2009) conduced a cross-sectional telephone survey of Hispanics age 18 and older living in the U.S. (n = 3,728), finding that 49% asked others to pray for their health, and 60% prayed for healing. This study also found that feeling frustrated with the conventional medical system, dissatisfaction with the quality of care received, and confusion about information given by health care providers were associated with a greater likelihood of praying for healing, or of asking others to pray for healing (Reyes-Ortiz et al, 2009).…”

Santeria as an Informal Psychosocial Support Among Latinas Living with Cancer

“…Therefore, to find culturally congruent mental health services that effectively incorporate Latino worldview and cultural variables (such as language, norms, and religion), Latinas commonly turn to accepted, popular informal practices found in their community which include folk/traditional healing in addition to family and friends (Gonzalez, 2002). Folk/traditional healing includes a religious/spiritual component which is a core Latino cultural value (Reyes-Ortiz et al, 2009).…”

“…Among Latinas, Laws and Carballeira (2003) demonstrated in a study conducted in Massachusetts with women over the age of 40, 59% of the Latina sample, which was 96% Puerto Rican or foreign born, used at least one non-conventional treatment in the last year (Insaf et al, 2010). These CAM modalities utilized by Latinos offer ethnic and cultural congruency since many originate in their indigenous healing traditions and are infused with a religious and spiritual component which is foundational in Latino culture (Insaf et al, 2010;Reyes-Ortiz, Rodriguez, & Markides, 2009). Hsiao and colleagues (2006) demonstrated that Latinos have the highest use of Curandero traditional healers in their sample.…”