Volume 7 Issue 2 February, 2017
Modern Medicine, Religion-Culture & Spirituality
Have we ever thought that what would happen to our advices and prescriptions once patient leaves our consultation room? It may not be as simple as – “I have advised and he would follow it”. He goes back to his home which has its own unique bio-psycho-social-religious-cultural and spiritual environment. Patient’s response to our advices is strongly influenced by dynamic interactions in this environment. Especially in diseases which are more insidious in the onset, slower in progression and less understood about the outcomes, the above said factors come into foreground. Patients have to adjust, cope and live with the disease (and diagnoses) which demand a lot of change in the above environment. Modern Medicine and particularly psychiatry has been considering biological-psychological and social
dynamics in outcomes of chronic and non-communicable disorders like Essential hypertension, Diabetes and most of the mental illnesses but somehow adopted a secular view through decades. Though less discussed, religious-cultural and spiritual aspects in fact play an invisible but significant role in shaping patient’s responses, attitudes, coping and adjustment. These are elusive in a routine clinical interaction but when considered and explored, would help in understanding the patient as a complete person and also his responses. Moreover, this would help in devising approaches that feel more friendly and practicable to the patient and help in coping better to the life with disease. It starts with ‘not dismissing’ the patient’s belief models out rightly but in turn respecting it and working our way through those, correcting the myths and taking advantage of good practices.
BMCH&RC, Chitradurga (Karnataka)
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