Opinion Of Health Care Providers Regarding Spiritual Dimension Of Health In India

摘要

Purpose: To understand spiritual beliefs and practices of health care providers and to study their opinion regarding the role of spiritual health in day to day patient care. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among health personnel in the north Indian city of Chandigarh. 78 clinicians and 94 Para-medical personnel participated in the study. Results: Whereas 62% agreed to the existence of a spiritual dimension to health, 20% attached primacy to spiritual health, placing it above medical wellness. 59% of respondents felt that the spiritually healthy coped better with their illness and 86.05%, felt that a spiritual caregiver can provide better patient care.60.47% also believed that it was important for caregivers to have a spiritual orientation. Conclusion & Recommendations: Most healthcare personnel believe that a spiritually oriented doctor-patient dyad can fight more effectively against disease. There is considerable difference in understanding about spiritual dimension of health. A valid and reliable tool needs to be developed to assess spiritual well being of doctors and patients, which would be useful in populations of different faiths. Introduction The last few decades are witnessing resurgence in interest in spirituality in almost all the fields of human endeavor including health. There is growing awareness that spirituality is an important yet often neglected factor in the health of patients.1 Many studies support the view that attention to a patient's spiritual health hastens recuperation and assists in prevention of the disease.2,3,4,5,6,7 An impressive body of research has shown convincing evidence that spirituality is positively related to health and there is a positive and consistent relation with hope and optimism, and negative association with depression, anxiety, psychotic symptoms and disorders as also substance abuse. 2,3,4,5,6,7 The 37th World Health Assembly adopted the historic resolution that the spiritual dimension should be added to the scope of health.8 During the 58th World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva in May 2005, the growing realization necessitated a special panel discussion and several reviews on “Spirituality, Religion, and Health”.9 Long term care which is essential for the individuals suffering from chronic non communicable diseases requires special attention to spiritual, emotional and mental state of the individual in addition to physical. The current movement in medicine towards providing patient-centered or quality care highlights the importance of assessing health care professional's core beliefs and personal philosophies. Religious and spiritual beliefs are often entwined within this domain. Moreover, the health care providers may not be equipped with the requisite skills to cater to spiritual needs of the patient and may not even be aware about the need for care of spiritual needs of the patients for healing. The objective of the study is to understand the knowledge and beliefs of health care providers i.e. doctors and paramedical workers regarding role of spiritual dimension of health. Material & Methods The present cross-sectional study was conducted to know the opinion of health personnel including qualified doctors and paramedical workers regarding their spiritual beliefs, practices and various other issues of spiritual health in the health care of patients. A two stage random sampling technique was adopted to select the respondents. At the first stage, a sample of three government health institutions namely, Government Medical College, General Hospital, Community Health Centre, were selected as random primary stage units and within the selected primary stage units, a sample of qualified allopathic doctors and paramedical workers was selected as respondents. Respondents were requested to provide their opinions regarding various issues of spiritual health in the health care of patients.A pre-designed, pre-tested and self-administered questionnaire was used