Religious beliefs or physicians' behavior: what makes a patient more prone to accept a physician to address his/her spiritual issues?

J Relig Health. 2014 Jun;53(3):917-28. doi: 10.1007/s10943-013-9685-2.

Abstract

The present study aims to understand the relation between religious beliefs, physicians' behavior and patients' opinions regarding "Spirituality, religiosity and health (S/R)" issues, and what makes a patient more prone to accept a physician to address his/her spiritual issues. A cross-sectional study was carried out in outpatients from a tertiary hospital, and a path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect relationships between the variables. For the final analysis, 300 outpatients were evaluated. Most patients would like their doctors to address S/R issues but did not feel comfortable to ask them. In contrast, they reported most doctors have never addressed S/R issues, and they believe doctors are not prepared to address these issues. The path analysis revealed that patients' previous experiences with their doctors may be as important as their religious/spiritual beliefs in proneness to accept a physician to address his/her spiritual issues.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Health Behavior
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care / psychology*
  • Physician-Patient Relations*
  • Religion*
  • Spirituality*