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Spirituality, Religiosity, and Health: a Comparison of Physicians’ Attitudes in Brazil, India, and Indonesia

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Abstract

Background

One of the biggest challenges in the spirituality, religiosity, and health field is to understand how patients and physicians from different cultures deal with spiritual and religious issues in clinical practice.

Purpose

The present study aims to compare physicians’ perspectives on the influence of spirituality and religion (S/R) on health between Brazil, India, and Indonesia.

Method

This is a cross-sectional, cross-cultural, multi-center study carried out from 2010 to 2012, examining physicians’ attitudes from two continents. Participants completed a self-rated questionnaire that collected information on sociodemographic characteristics, S/R involvement, and perspectives concerning religion, spirituality, and health. Differences between physicians’ responses in each country were examined using chi-squared, ANOVA, and MANCOVA.

Results

A total of 611 physicians (194 from Brazil, 295 from India, and 122 from Indonesia) completed the survey. Indonesian physicians were more religious and more likely to address S/R when caring for patients. Brazilian physicians were more likely to believe that S/R influenced patients’ health. Brazilian and Indonesians were as likely as to believe that it is appropriate to talk and discuss S/R with patients, and more likely than Indians. No differences were found concerning attitudes toward spiritual issues.

Conclusion

Physicians from these different three countries had very different attitudes on spirituality, religiosity, and health. Ethnicity and culture can have an important influence on how spirituality is approached in medical practice. S/R curricula that train physicians how to address spirituality in clinical practice must take these differences into account.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

Authors conformed to the Helsinki Declaration concerning human rights and informed consent and that they followed correct procedures concerning treatment of humans and animals in research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Avenida Eugênio do Nascimento s/n - Aeroporto, 36038330, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil

    Giancarlo Lucchetti & Alessandra L. G. Lucchetti

  2. Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan

  3. AdiBhat Foundation, New Delhi, India

    Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan

  4. University of Airlangga, Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia

    Azimatul Karimah & Kuntaman Kuntaman

  5. Marilia Medical School, Marilia, Brazil

    Gabriela R. Oliveira

  6. Goa University, Bambolim, Goa, 403001, India

    Amit Dias, Anil Rane & Jagadish Bhat

  7. B.R.K.R. Govt. Ayurvedic Medical College, Hyderabad, India

    A. Shukla & Namburu Satyaprasad

  8. Gandhi Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy, Hyderabad, India

    S. Lakshmi

  9. Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Hyderabad, India

    B. K. Ansari & Mushtaq Ahmad

  10. National Institute of Siddha Medical Sciences, Chennai, India

    R. S. Ramaswamy

  11. J.S.P.S Govt. Homeopathic Medical College, Hyderabad, India

    Rajender A. Reddy

  12. HELP Foundation of Omaha, Omaha, NE, USA

    Antoinette Tribulato & Anil K. Agarwal

  13. Sweekaar-Upkaar Rehabilitation Institute for Handicapped, Osmania University, Hyderabad, 500007, India

    Pasupuleti Hanumantha Rao

  14. National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bangalore, India

    Pratima Murthy

  15. Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA

    Harold G. Koenig

  16. King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Harold G. Koenig

Authors
  1. Giancarlo Lucchetti
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  2. Parameshwaran Ramakrishnan
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  3. Azimatul Karimah
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  4. Gabriela R. Oliveira
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  5. Amit Dias
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  6. Anil Rane
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  7. A. Shukla
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  8. S. Lakshmi
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  9. B. K. Ansari
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  10. R. S. Ramaswamy
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  11. Rajender A. Reddy
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  12. Antoinette Tribulato
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  13. Anil K. Agarwal
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  14. Jagadish Bhat
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  15. Namburu Satyaprasad
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  16. Mushtaq Ahmad
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  17. Pasupuleti Hanumantha Rao
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  18. Pratima Murthy
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  19. Kuntaman Kuntaman
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  20. Harold G. Koenig
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  21. Alessandra L. G. Lucchetti
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giancarlo Lucchetti.

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Lucchetti, G., Ramakrishnan, P., Karimah, A. et al. Spirituality, Religiosity, and Health: a Comparison of Physicians’ Attitudes in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. Int.J. Behav. Med. 23, 63–70 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-015-9491-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-015-9491-1

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