Empathy and Attending to Patient Religion/Spirituality: Findings from a National Survey of Muslim Physicians. J Health Care Chaplain 2021;27(2):84-104
Date
06/11/2019Pubmed ID
31179903DOI
10.1080/08854726.2019.1618063Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85067420644 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 5 CitationsAbstract
Attending to patient religion and spirituality (R/S) generates controversy. Some worry that because physicians lack formal religious training they may overstep their expertise, while others argue that physicians who are attentive to patient R/S provide higher quality of care. We aimed to describe American Muslim physicians' perspectives and practices regarding R/S discussions, and how physician characteristics correlate with these.A questionnaire including measures of religiosity, empathy, and attitudes and behaviors toward R/S, was randomly administered to Islamic Medical Association of North America members.More empathetic physicians were more likely to inquire about patients' R/S, share their own religious ideas and experiences, and encourage patients in their own R/S beliefs and practices (β = .44, p < .01). More empathetic physicians also had greater odds of encouraging discontinuation of futile life-sustaining interventions (OR 1.90, p < .05). Additionally, respondents with higher empathy had greater odds of encouraging patients at the end-of-life to seek reconciliation with God (OR 3.27, p < .001), and seek the forgiveness of those they have wronged (OR 2.48, p < .001).In the context of R/S diversity among the patient and provider population, enhancing physician empathy may be key to attending to the health-related R/S needs of patients.
Author List
Hamouda MA, Emanuel LL, Padela AIAuthor
Aasim Padela MD Vice Chair, Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdultAged
Aged, 80 and over
Empathy
Female
Humans
Islam
Male
Middle Aged
Physician-Patient Relations
Physicians
Spirituality
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
