Spiritual-friendly treatment DOES provide comfort for the dying, studies show

In a statement released in response to today's Gallup poll showing that clergy are seen as inadequate providers of spiritual comfort for the dying, David B. Larson, M.D., president of the National Institute for Healthcare Research says, "Facing death is always a spiritual crisis as people confront their mortality. However, it's no surprise that clergy are not recognized as key sources of support for dying patients, because spirituality is often a neglected or forgotten factor in health care. Contrary to popular opinion, NIHR has the data that shows the importance and impact of spirituality in end of life care."

The following are available for interviews and comments:

Michael McCullough, Ph.D., NIHR's director of research, on how people with spiritual and religious faith face death differently: He has key studies which show that spirituality is crucial to understanding how people deal with all aspects of death including the use of physician-assisted suicide, hospice care, recovery from bereavement, anxiety about dying, and more.

Christina Puchalski, M.D., faculty at The George Washington University/Center to Improve Care of Dying, and NIHR consultant, on key facts the Gallup Poll did not address: She comments on why the clergy in the poll were seen as inadequate; current methods to incorporate spirituality in the treatment of dying persons; why spirituality is important at end of life care. She believes all health care professionals, not just clergy, should be sources of support. The clergy are greatly interested in end of life care, and need to be incorporated into a multi -disciplinary health care team.

David L. Larson, M.D., on current programs integrating religion and health into medical schools: NIHR has pioneered faith and medicine courses at 19 medical schools such as Johns Hopkins, George Washington, Georgetown, Emory, and others. The courses are designed to incorporate spirituality into medicine and empower chaplains and clergy to become integral parts of the health care team.

For more information or to schedule interviews with the experts, contact the Advancement Office at NIHR
NIHR is the nation's premiere organization for the interface between health and faith. The non-profit organization collects and analyses research on these understudied variables and communicates this data to make a difference in the world's perception of religion and medicine.