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An Opportunity to Build Trust in the Patient-Physician Relationship

Gina Magyar-Russell, PhD; Patricia Fosarelli, MD, DMin; Holly Taylor, PhD, MPH; Daniel Finkelstein, MD, MA in Theology

Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(9):1262-1265.

Objective  To assess the prevalence of religion and spirituality as a component of ophthalmology patients' value systems.

Methods  A brief questionnaire distributed to 124 consecutive patients was self-administered by the patient and was collected without identifier so that participants could be assured that answers would not affect their care. The main outcome measure was the prevalence of religious and spiritual beliefs and behaviors in ophthalmology patients.

Results  The sample was predominantly Christian (76.6%). Of the participants, 82.3% reported that prayer was important (69.4% "very important" and 12.9% "moderately important") to their sense of well-being, and 45.2% reported weekly attendance at religious services. The prevalence of positive religious and spiritual interpretations of God's role in illness was higher than that of negative religious appraisals of God's role in illness.

Conclusions  The prevalence and importance of religious and spiritual beliefs in this sample of ophthalmology patients suggests that, like other medical patient populations, religion and spirituality are significant, and often positive, components of patients' value systems. Attention to religion and spirituality is one aspect of acknowledging and respecting a patient's value system and of establishing a relationship that promotes trust for making joint therapeutic decisions.

Author Affiliations: Department of Psychiatry (Dr Magyar-Russell) and Wilmer Eye Institute (Dr Finkelstein), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine; Johns Hopkins Center for Mind-Body Research (Drs Magyar-Russell and Finkelstein); The Ecumenical Institute of Theology, St Mary's Seminary and University (Dr Fosarelli); Bloomberg School of Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University (Dr Taylor); and Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics (Drs Taylor and Finkelstein), Baltimore, Maryland.