Spirituality and religiosity: knowledge of medical students

Costa, Milena Silva; Dantas, Raphael Tavares; Alves, Cecília Gomes dos Santos; Ferreira, Eugênia Rodrigues; Silva, Arthur Fernandes da

doi:10.1590/1983-80422019272319

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Research • Rev. Bioét. 27 (2) • Apr-Jun 2019 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-80422019272319 copy

Spirituality and religiosity: knowledge of medical students

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge of medical students about spirituality and religiosity in relation to patient care. It is an exploratory, descriptive, quantitative research, based on Spirituality and Brazilian Medical Education, developed in two Medical Schools of Ceará, Brazil. A total of 437 medical students answered a questionnaire, which was processed by descriptive analysis. The results showed that medical students know the meaning and relevance of spirituality and religiosity in the patient care process, however, they do not feel ready to approach the matter in a more complete way because of limitations in academic training. It is concluded that these students need to learn more about the subject for an effective approach to the patient and, therefore, it is important that medical schools add this subject to their curricula.

Spirituality; Medicine; Teaching

Variable	Institution				Total
	Public		Private		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Total	170	100	267	100	437	100
Sex
Female	86	50.6	163	61.0	249	57.0
Male	84	49.4	103	38.6	187	42.8
No information	–	–	1	0.4	1	0.2
Age (years)
18 to 23	115	67.6	202	76.2	317	72.9
24 to 29	51	30.0	49	18.5	100	22.9
30 to 35	2	1.2	10	3.8	12	2.8
36 to 41	2	1.2	4	1.5	6	1.4
Year in medical school
1^st.	37	21.8	79	29.6	116	26.5
2^nd.	28	16.5	68	25.5	96	22.0
3^rd.	43	25.3	66	24.7	109	24.9
4^th.	22	12.9	47	17.6	69	15.8
5^th.	22	12.9	7	2.6	29	6.7
6^th.	18	10.6	–	–	18	4.1
Color/Ethnic background
Oriental	–	–	1	0.4	1	0.2
White	79	46.5	151	56.6	230	52.6
Black	8	4.7	15	5.6	23	5.3
Mulatto	35	20.6	52	19.5	87	19.9
Other	48	28.2	46	17.2	94	21.5
No information	–	–	2	0.7	2	0.5
Family income
Up to 1 minimum wage	2	1.2	5	1.9	7	1.6
1 to 3 minimum wages	39	22.9	61	22.8	100	22.9
4 to 7 minimum wages	54	31.8	112	42.0	166	38.0
8 to 12 minimum wages	31	18.3	49	18.3	80	18.3
+12 minimum wages	39	22.9	37	13.9	76	17.4
No information	5	2.9	3	1.1	8	1.8
Religious belief
None, but believes in God	34	20.0	40	15.0	74	17.0
None, and does not believe in God	6	3.5	6	2.2	12	2.7
Evangelical/Protestant	20	11.7	27	10.2	47	10.8
Buddhist	1	0.6	–	–	1	0.2
Jewish	1	0.6	–	–	1	0.2
Spiritist	8	4.7	14	5.3	22	5.0
Muslim	1	0.6	1	0.4	2	0.5
Protestant	3	1.7	1	0.4	4	0.9
Catholic	85	50.0	171	64.1	256	58.6
Spiritualist	4	2.5	2	0.7	6	1.4
Other	6	3.5	3	1.1	9	2.0
No information	1	0.6	2	0.7	3	0.7

Variable	Institution				Total
	Public		Private		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Total	307	100	480	100	787	100
What do you understand by spirituality?
Ethical and humanistic posture	42	13.7	58	12.1	100	25.8
Seeking the meaning and sense of human life	88	28.7	117	24.4	205	53.1
Belief and relationship with God/religiosity	68	22.1	134	27.9	202	50.0
Belief in something transcendent to matter	81	26.4	101	21.0	182	47.4
Belief in the existence of the soul and in the afterlife	28	9.1	70	14.6	98	23.7
Total	360	100	498	100	858	100
You relate the topic “health and spirituality” to:
Humanization of medicine	75	20.8	141	28.3	216	49.1
Quality of life	55	15.3	74	14.8	129	30.1
Total/holistic health	66	18.3	39	7.8	105	26.1
Positive or negative interference with religiosity in health	57	15.8	102	20.5	159	36.3
Transcendent/immaterial interference in health	58	16.1	66	13.2	124	29.3
Approach to living and dying	49	13.6	76	15.3	125	28.9
Total	170	100	267	100	437	100
In general. how much do you think religion/spirituality influences on the health of your patients?
Extremely	45	26.5	83	31.1	128	29.3
Very much	99	58.2	157	58.8	256	58.7
More or less	20	11.8	22	8.2	42	9.6
A little	4	2.3	1	0.4	5	1.1
Very little or nothing	2	1.2	3	1.1	5	1.1
No information	–	–	1	0.4	1	0.2
Is the influence of religion/spirituality on health generally positive or negative?
Generally positive	136	80.0	220	82.4	356	81.4
Generally negative	–	–	5	1.9	5	1.1
Equally positive and negative	31	18.2	37	13.8	68	15.6
There is no influence	1	0.6	1	0.4	2	0.5
No information	2	1.2	4	1.5	6	1.4
In your opinion. how intensely does the spirituality/religiosity of physicians interfere with the understanding of the health-disease process and the doctor-patient relationship?
Huge intensity	30	17.6	49	18.3	79	18.1
Great intensity	73	42.9	103	38.6	176	40.3
Moderate intensity	43	25.4	84	31.5	127	29.1
It does not interfere	17	10.0	22	8.2	39	8.9
Não interfere	7	4.1	8	3.0	15	3.4
No information	–	–	1	0.4	1	0.2
Do you feel like addressing the topic of faith / spirituality with patients?
Yes. Rarely	53	31.2	73	27.3	126	28.8
Yes. Often	73	42.9	140	52.5	213	48.8
No	43	25.3	54	20.2	97	22.2
No information	1	0.6	–	–	1	0.2
How prepared do you consider yourself to address religious/spiritual aspects with your patients?
Extremely prepared	2	1.2	5	1.9	7	1.6
Very prepared	6	3.5	23	8.6	29	6.6
Moderately prepared	76	44.7	123	46.1	199	45.6
A little prepared	69	40.6	97	36.4	166	38.0
Not prepared at all	11	6.5	11	4.1	22	5.0
Does not apply	6	3.5	6	2.2	12	2.7
No information	–	–	2	0.7	2	0.5
How relevant do you think such an approach is?
Extremely relevant	29	17.1	27	10.1	56	12.8
Very relevant	75	44.1	123	46.1	198	45.3
Moderately relevant	47	27.6	96	36.0	143	32.7
Not relevant at all	15	8.9	17	6.4	32	7.3
Nada pertinente	4	2.3	2	0.7	6	1.4
No information	–	–	2	0.7	2	0.5
When is it appropriate for the physician to pray with your patient?
Never	18	10.6	15	5.6	33	7.5
Only if the patient requests	117	68.8	174	65.2	291	66.6
Whenever the doctor thinks it is appropriate	35	20.6	78	29.2	113	25.9

Variable	Institution				Total
	Public		Private		Total
	n	%	n	%	n	%
Total	170	100	267	100	437	100
Have you ever asked about the religion/spirituality of your patients?
Yes	78	45.9	100	37.5	178	40.7
No	40	23.5	69	25.8	109	25.0
Does not apply. I don’t see patients	51	30.0	95	35.6	146	33.4
No information	1	0.6	3	1.1	4	0.9
Total	376	100	556	100	932	200
Do any of the following statements discourage you from discussing religion/spirituality with your patients?
Lack of knowledge	46	12.2	53	9.5	99	21.7
Lack of training	91	24.2	111	20	202	44.2
Lack of time	49	13	52	9.3	101	22.3
Discomfort with the topic	24	6.4	33	6	57	12.4
Fear of imposing viewpoints on the patients	72	19.2	157	28.2	229	47.4
Knowledge on religion is not relevant for medical treatment	5	1.3	4	0.7	9	2.0
It’s not part of my work	9	2.4	5	0.9	14	3.3
Fear of insulting the patients	57	15.2	103	18.5	160	33.7
Fear that my colleagues may not approve	8	2.1	19	3.4	27	5.5
Other	9	2.4	8	1.5	17	3.9
No information	6	1.6	11	2.0	17	3.6
Total	325	100	492	100	817	200
Which of the spiritual tools or treatments do you think could be recommended to your patients?
Prayer	125	38.5	205	41.7	330	80.2
Religious reading	87	26.8	148	30.1	235	56.9
Fluidic water/Energized water/Blessed water	16	4.9	29	5.9	45	10.8
Dis-obsession/Exorcism	10	3.1	5	1.0	15	4.1
Imposition of hands//Reiki/Johrei	21	6.5	20	4.1	41	8.6
Charity work in religious temples	42	12.9	64	13.0	106	25.9
Other	19	5.8	17	3.4	36	9.2
No information	5	1.5	4	0.8	9	2.3

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E-mail: bioetica@portalmedico.org.br

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[1] Correspondência. Milena Silva Costa – Rua Divino Salvador, 284, Rosário CEP 63180-000. Barbalha/CE, Brasil.