Patients’ Religion and Spirituality in an Ethical Approach
Patients’ Religion and Spirituality in an Ethical Approach

Summary/Abstract: Contemporary medical practice provides increasingly more evidence and arguments which substantiate the fact that patients’ religion and spiritual practices are factors that exert a strong influence on many patients confronting serious illnesses or are having difficulties in taking ethical decisions regarding treatment options or healthcare at the end of life. The challenges of this medical context suggest that within the framework of the interaction between doctor and patient, doctors avoid approaching the religious or spiritual contents. This aspect is justified by the lack of adequate education for the manner in which the spiritual side of the patient should be managed, for the doctor cannot be expected to understand beliefs and practices of so many different religious communities. In order to clearly understand the modalities in which religious belief systems of the patients may be integrated in the medical act, we aim to follow, within medical ethics boundaries, the manner in which the spiritual beliefs of the patients are engaged in the healthcare process.

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