Spirituality and Your Health: A Surgeon’s Perspective Nov. 21
It takes more than a surgeon’s scalpel to put patients on the mend. A St. Louis surgeon said a combination of internal and external resources work together for healing and recovery for ill patients.
Joshua Jensen, MD, a doctor at Christian Hospital, will speak on the topic, “Spirituality and Your Health: A Surgeon’s Perspective” on Wednesday, November 21, 9-10 a.m. in the Community Room at Jamestown Mall.
If someone is at peace spiritually, he says it can vastly impact the healing process.
“It seems to me that the people who had a strong faith had a certain strength and calm to face their illness or impending surgery and to help in the healing process,” Jensen said. He also said when he finds a patient with such a faith, he encourages it.
The idea aligns with a recently-published study by the University of Missouri-Columbia linking religion and spirituality to positive physical and mental health. Research indicates that religion may be an equally, if not more important, coping mechanism for persons with chronic disabilities such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke and arthritis.
“Although many individuals with disabilities turn to religion to help them deal with their situations, to date, religion is infrequently discussed in rehabilitation settings and is rarely investigated in rehabilitation research,” Brick Johnstone, professor of health psychology at the MU School of Health Professions said.
Most studies have focused on people with life-threatening diseases. According to the study, persons facing impending death may use religion to help them accept their condition, come to terms with unresolved life issues, and prepare for death.
“To better meet the needs of persons with disabilities, this needs to change,” Johnstone said.
The study notes that few practical suggestions exist for how to address religion in health care. According to the study, heath care providers should encourage practices important to the patient, such as praying, yoga, reading of religious texts, meditation or laying on of hands. Praying with patients may be appropriate in some cases, according to the study.
The study suggests medical students should be taught about various religious beliefs and how they might be used to the patients’ advantage in a rehabilitation setting.
“Although some professionals may feel uncomfortable obtaining information about patients’ religious beliefs, it is no different than inquiring about their sexual, psychological, substance use and legal histories,” said Johnstone, who also is the director of the MU Spirituality and Health Research Project at the MU Center on Religion and the Professions.
According to the study, rehabilitation psychologists, counselors and chaplains also should work together to initiate forgiveness interventions. Patients who were injured as the result of the actions of others may be better able to work toward recovery if they can use their religious beliefs to work through emotions surrounding the cause of the disability.
“It is also very important that rehabilitation professionals be aware of the different religious customs that should be considered when evaluating and treating patients, including information regarding the appropriateness of physical touching by others, preferences regarding gender specific services, dress and hygiene customs,” Johnstone added.
The study was published earlier this year in the journal “Disability and Rehabilitation.” It was co-authored by Bret Glass, of the MU College of Education’s Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology and Richard Oliver, dean of the MU School of Health Professions.