Health professionals’ attitudes toward religiosity and spirituality: a NERSH Data Pool based on 23 surveys from six continents [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]
Alex Kørup,
Jens Søndergaard,
Nada A Alyousefi,
Giancarlo Lucchetti,
Klaus Baumann,
Eunmi Lee,
Azimatul Karimah,
Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan,
Eckhard Frick,
Arndt Büssing,
Esther Schouten,
Wyatt Butcher,
René Hefti,
Inga Wermuth,
Rocio de Diego-Cordero,
Maria Cecilia Menegatti-Chequini,
Niels Christian Hvidt
Affiliations
Alex Kørup
Research Unit of General Practice, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, 5000, Denmark
Jens Søndergaard
Research Unit of General Practice, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, 5000, Denmark
Nada A Alyousefi
College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11461, Saudi Arabia
Giancarlo Lucchetti
Department of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora, Brazil
Klaus Baumann
Faculty of Theology, Albert-Ludwig-University, Freiburg, D-79085, Germany
Eunmi Lee
Faculty of Theology, Albert-Ludwig-University, Freiburg, D-79085, Germany
Azimatul Karimah
Department of Psychiatry, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia
Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan
Graduate Theological Union, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, USA
Eckhard Frick
Munich School of Philosophy, Munich, 80539, Germany
Arndt Büssing
Institute of Integrative Medicine, University Witten/Herdecke, Herdecke, 58313, Germany
Esther Schouten
Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Munich, Munich, 80366, Germany
Wyatt Butcher
School of Divinity, King’s College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
René Hefti
Research Institute for Spirituality and Health, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Inga Wermuth
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Munich, Munich, 80336, Germany
Rocio de Diego-Cordero
Research Group CTS 969 Innovation in Health Care and Social Determinants of Health, University of Seville, Seville, 41009, Spain
Maria Cecilia Menegatti-Chequini
Department and Institute of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 05403-010, Brazil
Niels Christian Hvidt
Academy of Geriatric Cancer Research (AgeCare), Odense University Hospital, Odense, 5000, Denmark
Background In order to facilitate better international and cross-cultural comparisons of health professionals (HPs) attitudes towards Religiosity and/or Spirituality (R/S) using individual participant data meta-analysis we updated the NERSH Data Pool. Methods We performed both a network search, a citation search and systematic literature searches to find new surveys. Results We found six new surveys (N=1,068), and the complete data pool ended up comprising 7,323 observations, including 4,070 females and 3,253 males. Most physicians (83%, N=3,700) believed that R/S had “some” influence on their patients’ health (CI95%) (81.8%–84.2%). Similarly, nurses (94%, N=1,020) shared such a belief (92.5%–95.5%). Across all samples 649 (16%; 14.9%–17.1%) physicians reported to have undergone formal R/S-training, compared with nurses where this was 264 (23%; 20.6%–25.4%). Conclusions Preliminary analysis indicates that HPs believe R/S to be important for patient health but lack formal R/S-training. Findings are discussed. We find the data pool suitable as a base for future cross-cultural comparisons using individual participant data meta-analysis.
