Author: Charmaine Millott
Until recently, modern healthcare has not completely made the connection of the effects of spirituality on health. Historically, spirituality has been the basis of society dominating culture, healthcare, and the rules of society. As society around the world changed so did the influence of spirituality in modern pursuits. Each culture has its own roots in spirituality and how it influences today’s world. Leading research on the profound effects spirituality has on health has been coming out of Duke University Medical Center under the direction of Dr. Harold G. Koenig.
Dr. Koenig is a world renowned medical scientist who is a registered nurse, a physician, biostatistician, and a professor of psychiatry and medicine at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He is the founder and co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University and has been traveling throughout the United States giving conferences, seminars, and speeches on his work. He has focused his research on the effects of spirituality on the elderly and the disabled. He has authored many books on the subject and has appeared on a number of television and radio programs as a guest speaker. He describes his life history with his own spirituality in relation to his research in his book “The Healing Connection” in a rather serious but humorous manner.
The research includes a variety of subjects from those with breast cancer to those with minor ailments. Dr. Koenig knows all too well the effects of being disabled as he spends part of his time in a wheelchair. Dr. Koenig became a Christian later in his life and attributed its profound effects with his ability to cope with his disability. His research is methodically planned to produce the most honest outcome. One example of this approach was while studying breast cancer he chose to focus on African American women.
“We chose African American women because the church plays such an important role in their lives and particularly with relationships with other women in the church. This is such a central part of the belief system and the social relationships of black women that we thought that this would be the group to study, to try to understand what impact religious practices would have on their body’s response to breast cancer,” stated Dr. Koenig in an interview with the Epoch Times. He goes on to state, “In all of the world’s major religions the virtues of forgiveness, gratefulness, kindness, and love are all encouraged. Doing these kinds of things likely improves one’s health.”
With relation to health, the research that has been completed has found that stress alters the immune system with its ability to combat disease, cardiovascular problems, digestive and metabolic problems, etc. Dr. Koenig has found that spirituality gives people a sense of direction, connectedness, support, and a sense of self-worth that provides a powerful coping behavior that helps people get through the stress, which in turn will positively affect their bodies in different ways. The research has found that spirituality moderates stress by giving the person a sense of peace by practicing the virtues that create psychological changes. This leads to the improvement of the immune system because the stress has decreased or is not present to make it worse. People who are optimistic thinkers are more likely to live long, healthy lives.
The studies have primarily focused on Christianity simply because of those who are spiritual believers in the U.S., eighty-five (85%) percent are Christians. Dr. Koenig’s studies are situated in the southern U.S. where there is a great Christian population and where he lives. Dr. Koenig wishes to establish a foundation for spiritual and health studies using Christianity before he goes on to apply the research to the world’s various religions and health. He feels having a basis is fundamental to the progress of the studies and to include other spiritual practices in order to guide others to do research in their own traditions.
Last October the Insurance Bureau of Canada released a report called “Ending Canada’s Invisible Epidemic: A Strategy for Injury Prevention,” which states that injury is Canada’s leading cause of disability and death of Canadians between the ages of 1-44 years. Disability often leads to depression by creating extreme stress for the individual and those around them. One of the recommendations found in the report is to increase community supports and resources through the federal government. Another is to create groups of injury researchers and put their knowledge into actions. Dr. Koenig has been working tirelessly to increase support for the disabled through increasing awareness of disability, in hopes to increase government support.
Dr. Koenig made a statement in relation to the issue, “I think that doctors are more sensitive to these issues. I think that medical schools are training doctors to be more sensitive these days. I also think that many physicians see the benefits of religions that many patients experience. Particularly as some of the research has come out, physicians have asked patients about the role of spirituality in their lives. We have become more aware of the importance. I think we will see more of this in the future.”
He also explains that other researchers are reporting scientific evidence that spirituality plays a positive role in supporting health and therefore more governments are seeing the benefits. However, he states the U.S. government is cutting back financial aid to research but he hopes that there will be more research and support devoted to this area. He feels this is an area that will receive higher priority in the future than it has in the past. His greatest concern for the future is that researchers who are interested in studying this area receive the training that would prepare them to be able to conduct these studies, write the grants that would get the support, and get the findings published in mainstream medical journals. He is creating a network of a critical mass of researchers to help move the field ahead. He feels that once there is more mainstream medical scientific evidence, physicians will be more open to addressing spirituality in clinical practice and be willing to support patients in their spiritual beliefs. .
Dr. Koenig goes on to state that his work is gaining acceptance around the world in many countries that were once ruled by repressive regimes such as Hungary and the Ukraine. There is interest in India and Taiwan, as well as some of the Islamic countries.
“It is very exciting to see some of the researchers around the world who may not have been very interested in this work to now be getting involved, “ he says, “A goal is to have international conferences that would bring researchers and clinicians together increasing their understanding and communication about these issues.”
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About the Author
Charmaine has over 20 years experience in acute care nursing, and also has a diploma in Disability Management . She will then pursue her Bachelor in Applied Human Services Management, and then on to receive her Masters in Disability Management. She occassionally writes for a global newspaper and has done a series on Disability Management for the business section.
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