Communicating about religion in the hospital

An article in The New York Times Health section featured an article today about an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics, considering Muslim religious beliefs and how those beliefs may impact the delivery of health care. Muslims differ in adherence, but maintaining modesty is an overriding ethic, and may even cause some to delay care if they cannot get in to see a physician of the same gender.

While it may not always be possible to accommodate all religious requests, respect and communication can go a long way to facilitate trust between the physician and patient. It starts by the physician simply asking, either in person or in an intake form, what their religious concerns are and what can be done to make them more comfortable. Those conversations can be a good starting point for discussing what can be accommodated and what is necessary. A conversation, rather than a directive, will help the patient feel heard and cared for.

Doctors working with spiritual healers

The New York Times had an article last weekend about a new program in a California hospital where Hmong Shaman are encouraged to visit patients and perform healing ceremonies in the hospital. The program is an example of how effective communication can foster understanding between patient and physicians, and also between cultures. Both the spiritual healers and the physicians have learned from about what the other does and why. Welcoming the Shamans has also helped to build a more trusting relationship between the Hmong community and Western medical practitioners. The Hmong patients, and the communities they come from, may be better able to trust and communicate with their physicians when their religious beliefs are upheld in the process.