Spirituality and health in the curricula of medical schools in Brazil

BMC Medical Education

Harold G Koenig²  José Roberto Leite⁴  Leandro Romani de Oliveira⁴  Daniele Corcioli Mendes Espinha¹  Alessandra Lamas Granero Lucchetti¹  Giancarlo Lucchetti³ 

[1] São Paulo Medical Spiritist Association, Av. Juriti, 367 apto 131 – Moema, São Paulo, SP, CEP: 04520-000, Brazil;King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;João Evangelista Hospital, São Paulo, Brazil;Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

关键词: Medical students;    Medical schools;    Medical education;    Religion;    Spirituality;   

Others  :  1153415
DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6920-12-78

 received in 2012-03-23, accepted in 2012-08-15,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

According to recent surveys, 59% of British medical schools and 90% of US medical schools have courses or content on spirituality and health (S/H). There is little research, however, on the teaching of S/H in medical schools in other countries, such as those in Latin America, Asia, Australia and Africa. The present study seeks to investigate the current status of teaching on S/H in Brazilian medical schools.

Methods

All medical schools in Brazil (private and public) were selected for evaluation, were contacted by email and phone, and were administered a questionnaire. The questionnaire, sent by e-mail, asked medical school directors/deans about any S/H courses that were taught, details about those courses, S/H lectures or seminars, importance of teaching this subject for medical school directors, and medical schools characteristics.

Results

A total of 86 out of 180 (47.7%) medical schools responded. Results indicated that 10.4% of Brazilian Medical Schools have a dedicated S/H courses and 40.5% have courses or content on spirituality and health. Only two medical schools have S/H courses that involve hands-on training and three schools have S/H courses that teach how to conduct a spiritual history. The majority of medical directors (54%) believe that S/H is important to teach in their schools.

Conclusion

Few Brazilian medical schools have courses dealing specifically with S/H and less than half provide some form of teaching on the subject. Unfortunately, there is no standard curriculum on S/H. Nevertheless, the majority of medical directors believe this issue is an important subject that should be taught.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Lucchetti et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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