Abstract
Background: Patients` religious commitments and attachment to religious communities are known to influence their experiences of illness and their medical decisions. We know less about the religious characteristics of doctors, whether their religious beliefs change throughout the medical career, whether there is a connection between their religiosity and health, and how doctors religiosity affect their clinical work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of religiosity and connection to mental health among medical students through their medical course and four years after their final exam in addition to influence from religiosity upon choice of and work in medicine.
Methods: Medical students at all 4 Norwegian universities (n = 421) were mailed questionnaires including items about religiosity on entry to their medical course (T1). Respondents were surveyed again halfway through (T2), at the end of their six year curriculum (T3), and four years later (T4). The study sample comprised the 210 students/young doctors who responded at all 4 occasions.
Results: Religious activity was reported by 1/3 to 1/4 of the respondents with no significant variation over the assessments (T1 = 31,4 %, T2 = 25,7 %, T3 = 28,8 % and T4 = 27,9 %). Religious activity was significant associated with getting comfort and strength out of the religion. There was no significant relationship between religiosity and mental health. An interesting result was the variation in mental health. Through medical school mental health deteriorated with a bottom level at the end (T3). Four years after the closing exam, the mental health scores were significant better than at the end of the course (T3). We also found that for whom religiosity had a meaning
for choice of study, there was a significant connection with meaning of religiosity for doctor work four years after the closing exam.
Conclusion: The occurrence of religiosity was reported by 1/3 to 1/4 of the respondents over the four assessments with no significant relationship between religiosity and mental health. Future research should compare the occurrence of doctors` religiosity with the occurrence of religiosity among the normal population in Norway. Is it important that this occurrence is equal in case of meeting the religious needs of the patients? And what does it mean that doctors say their religiosity has a meaning for their work?
Background: Patients` religious commitments and attachment to religious communities are known to influence their experiences of illness and their medical decisions. We know less about the religious characteristics of doctors, whether their religious beliefs change throughout the medical career, whether there is a connection between their religiosity and health, and how doctors religiosity affect their clinical work. The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of religiosity and connection to mental health among medical students through their medical course and four years after their final exam in addition to influence from religiosity upon choice of and work in medicine.
Methods: Medical students at all 4 Norwegian universities (n = 421) were mailed questionnaires including items about religiosity on entry to their medical course (T1). Respondents were surveyed again halfway through (T2), at the end of their six year curriculum (T3), and four years later (T4). The study sample comprised the 210 students/young doctors who responded at all 4 occasions.
Results: Religious activity was reported by 1/3 to 1/4 of the respondents with no significant variation over the assessments (T1 = 31,4 %, T2 = 25,7 %, T3 = 28,8 % and T4 = 27,9 %). Religious activity was significant associated with getting comfort and strength out of the religion. There was no significant relationship between religiosity and mental health. An interesting result was the variation in mental health. Through medical school mental health deteriorated with a bottom level at the end (T3). Four years after the closing exam, the mental health scores were significant better than at the end of the course (T3). We also found that for whom religiosity had a meaning
for choice of study, there was a significant connection with meaning of religiosity for doctor work four years after the closing exam.
Conclusion: The occurrence of religiosity was reported by 1/3 to 1/4 of the respondents over the four assessments with no significant relationship between religiosity and mental health. Future research should compare the occurrence of doctors` religiosity with the occurrence of religiosity among the normal population in Norway. Is it important that this occurrence is equal in case of meeting the religious needs of the patients? And what does it mean that doctors say their religiosity has a meaning for their work?