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AN ISLAMIC APPRAISAL OF MINDING THE GAP
Author(s) -
Khan Faiz
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of religious ethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.306
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1467-9795
pISSN - 0384-9694
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9795.2008.00337.x
Subject(s) - islam , neglect , exposition (narrative) , theme (computing) , perspective (graphical) , health care , medical literature , medical ethics , critical appraisal , psychology , intervention (counseling) , sociology , medicine , epistemology , engineering ethics , alternative medicine , nursing , political science , history , philosophy , law , psychiatry , pathology , art , literature , engineering , operating system , archaeology , artificial intelligence , computer science
The neglect of psycho‐spiritual needs of patients as they traverse the modern healthcare system has been a featured theme in medical literature over the past decade. This literature, which often highlights in‐patient palliative care, as well as acute and critical care settings, influences practice guidelines and protocols of doctors and nurses. In this essay, I review some of the pertinent issues raised in the literature and examine the validity of placing an ethical perspective on this issue. I also compare Islamic theocentric perspectives with secular, non‐theistic perspectives on restoring psycho‐spiritual care for patients. I then develop a framework for pastoral intervention based on aspects of the Islamic tradition and elaborate this framework by addressing clinical contexts and cases. The essay is an exposition based upon a review of the modern medical literature, an analysis of some of the traditional Islamic written sources, and the observations of the investigator, a practicing physician and an American Muslim.