University researchers analyzed data collected between Jan. 2006-June 2009 on 3,141 patients enrolled in the University of Chicago Hospitalist Study. Key findings from their research include the following:
• The hospital’s study showed 20 percent of patients who would have valued these discussions say their desires went unmet.
• Forty-one percent of patients wanted to discuss religious or spiritual concerns with someone while in the hospital, and 32 percent of all patients said some discussion did occur.
• Among those who had taken part in discussions, 61 percent spoke with a chaplain, 12 percent with a member of their own religious community, 8 percent with a physician and 12 percent with someone else.
• One in four patients who did not want a conversation about spiritual issues had one anyway.
Read the University of Chicago Medical Center study about spiritual discussions.
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