Program on Medicine and Religion

Spiritual Concerns

How Should Clinicians Address Spiritual Concerns of Patients?

Past research and common experience make clear that religion matters to many patients, and matter particularly in the context of suffering and illness. Patient-centered medicine requires physicians to at least pay attention to patients’ spiritual concerns and treat them with respect.

But what does it mean to treat patients’ spiritual concerns with respect, and how should physicians’ pay attention? What role, if any, do physicians have in responding to the spiritual dimensions of patients’ experiences? Below are listed publications by Program faculty and colleagues that address these questions from different vantage points.

Related Publications

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