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Religion, spirituality and health: how should Australia's medical professionals respond?
Author(s) -
Peach Hedley G
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2003.tb05071.x
Subject(s) - spirituality , spiritual health , health professionals , psychology , nursing , public relations , medicine , medical education , health care , alternative medicine , political science , clinical psychology , law , pathology
Greater participation in religious activities is associated with better health outcomes. In the US, most inpatients have religious needs, but physicians address them only occasionally and infrequently refer patients to clergy. US medical students are learning to do spiritual assessments and integrate the findings into patient management, which may reverse this. Religion does not play a central role in the lives of Australians as it does for US citizens. Research is required to better understand the spirituality of Australians, its relationship to health and the benefit, cost and acceptability of doctors enquiring into spirituality compared with spiritual advisers and counsellors.