What is the role of faith and spirituality in medicine?
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Dr. Michael S. Galindo of Intermountain Healthcare answered:Faith and spirituality are important to wellness throughout peoples' lives. Faith gives us joy, meaning, direction, and deep connections to other people as well as to the divine. Spirituality is also deeply individual and can change throughout life. Whatever one's spiritual journey is like in life, spirituality takes on special meaning for people and their families as they struggle with serious illnesses and approach the end of their lives.
In the practice of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, we recognize that as a patient's illness progresses, curative medical treatment will become less and less effective. As these treatments become less effective (and therefore less important), the focus on the spiritual needs of the patient becomes more important. Attention to spirituality in the face of serious illness can relieve suffering, build connections with others, provide hope and meaning, and prepare a person for what comes next. At the very end of life, spirituality is often the only helpful treatment that caregivers can provide.
It is always appropriate to ask how building yourself up spiritually can improve your life and your chances of overcoming illness. Doctors should readily embrace the parallel role that a person's faith can play in medical care.
Faith and spirituality are important to wellness throughout peoples' lives. Faith gives us joy, meaning, direction, and deep connections to other people as well as to the divine. Spirituality is also deeply individual and can change throughout... More -
Dr. Sam Parnia answered:Critical care medicine and resuscitation research specialist Dr. Sam Parnia explains the role of faith and spirituality in medicine. Watch Dr. Parnia's video for information on near-death experiences.
Critical care medicine and resuscitation research specialist Dr. Sam Parnia explains the role of faith and spirituality in medicine. Watch Dr. Parnia's video for information on near-death experiences. More -
Dr. Michael T Murray answered:It is amazing to me that most physicians ignore one of the most powerful healing techniques known. Prayer costs nothing, has no negative side effects, and fits perfectly into any treatment plan. No matter what faith you embrace, you can use the power of prayer to lead you to better health - of body, mind, and soul.
Most physicians are taught that any consideration of religious commitment is beyond the legitimate interest and scope of medical care. It should not be this way, but many of them believe that faith and medical science are mutually exclusive, despite the fact that numerous scientific studies have now fully validated the efficacy of faith, prayer, and religion in healing.
In addition, patients know that prayer works. In 1996 USA Today conducted a poll of 1,000 American adults; 79 percent of the respondents endorsed the belief that spiritual faith and prayer can help people recover from disease, and 63 percent agreed that physicians should talk to patients about spiritual faith and prayer. Indeed, my feeling is that it is medically irresponsible not to include a spiritual dimension in a patient's plan for treatment and recovery.
One of the leaders who brought the healing power of prayer to the forefront was Larry Dossey, M.D., author of the best-selling books Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine (HarperCollins, 1993) and Prayer Is Good Medicine (HarperCollins, 1996). In these books, Dr. Dossey provides a thorough review of the scientific evidence. Not surprisingly, he found that prayer has received relatively little attention from the research community. His systematic analysis of more than 4.3 million published reports indexed on Medline (the U.S. Government's medical database) from 1980 to 1996 found only 364 studies that included faith, religion, or prayer as part of the treatment. The numbers are small, but the conclusion is huge: the data show that prayer and religious commitment promote good health and healing.
Find out more about this book: What the Drug Companies Won't Tell You and Your Doctor Doesn't Know: The Al...
It is amazing to me that most physicians ignore one of the most powerful healing techniques known. Prayer costs nothing, has no negative side effects, and fits perfectly into any treatment plan. No matter what faith you embrace, you can use the... More
