SynthesisMedicine2019
Religious values of physicians affect their clinical practice: A meta-analysis of individual participant data from 7 countries.
Synthesis in Medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Health professionals' attitudes toward religiosity and spirituality: a NERSH Data Pool based on 23 surveys from six continents.F1000Research · 2021Pooled it
- Suicide among physicians and health-care workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2019Pooled it
- Physicians Disclosing Religion in Online Biographies: Patient Perceptions and Decision-Making in the United States.Journal of religion and health · 2023Trial
- Opinions, Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding Spirituality and Religiosity in the Clinical Practice of Dental Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe · 2026Article
- Spirituality and Religiosity of Internal Medicine Physicians in the USA: Results from a National Survey.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- How do physicians perceive and manage the influence of their personal end-of-life preferences on clinical practice and end-of-life decision-making with patients? An international qualitative study.Palliative care and social practice · 2026Article
- Spiritual care in the intensive care unit. Is it already a reality?: an integrative review.Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Review
- Conscience clause in brain death care: ethical and legal perspectives of young nurses and midwives in Poland.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Embedded values-like shape ethical reasoning of large language models on primary care ethical dilemmas.Heliyon · 2024Article
- When Biobanks Meet Religion: Association Between Religiosity and Attitudes of Polish Medical Students Toward Biobanking of Human Biological Material for Research Purposes.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
- Comparison of the Role of Different Levels of Religiousness and Spirituality in Controversial Ethical Issues and Clinical Practice among Brazilian Resident Physicians: Results from the Multicenter SBRAMER Study.Journal of religion and health · 2024Article
- Applicability and Validity of Second Victim Assessment Instruments among General Practitioners and Healthcare Assistants (SEVID-IX Study).Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- "Why me?": Qualitative research on why patients ask, what they mean, how they answer and what factors and processes are involved.SSM. Mental health · 2023Article
- GPs´ Personal Spirituality, Their Attitude and Spiritual Competence: A Cross-Sectional Study in German General Practices.Journal of religion and health · 2023Article
- Measuring Spiritual Needs in a Secular Society: Validation and Clinimetric Properties of the Danish 20-Item Spiritual Needs Questionnaire.Journal of religion and health · 2022Article
- Concordant physician-patient characteristics lose importance for Arab American women and their healthcare- cross-sectional study.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2022Article
- The NERSH Questionnaire and Pool of Data from 12 Countries: Development and Description.Journal of religion and health · 2022Article
- Validation of the German Version of the Moral Injury Symptom and Support Scale for Health Professionals (G-MISS-HP) and Its Correlation to the Second Victim Phenomenon.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Evaluation of a Spiritual History with Elderly Multi-Morbid Patients in General Practice-A Mixed-Methods Study within the Project HoPES3.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Doctor, Will You Pray for Me? Responding to Patients' Religious and Spiritual Concerns.Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundObservational studies indicate that religious values of physicians influence clinical practice. The aim of this study was to test prior hypotheses of prevalence of this influence using a meta-analysis design.
methodsBased on a systematic literature search we performed individual participant data meta-analysis (IPDMA) on data based on 2 preselected questionnaires. Ten samples from 7 countries remained after exclusion (n = 3342). IPDMA was performed using a random-effects model with 2 summary measures: the mean value of the scale "Religiosity of Health Professionals"; and a dichotomized value of the question "My religious beliefs influence my practice of medicine." Also, a sensitivity analysis was performed using a mixed-models design controlling for confounders.
resultsMean score of religiosity (95% confidence interval [CI]) was significantly lower in the European subgroup (8.46 [6.96-9.96]) compared with the Asian samples India (10.46 [9.82-10.21]) and Indonesia (12.52 [12.19-12.84]), whereas Brazil (9.76 [9.54-9.99]) and USA (10.02 [9.82-10.21]) were placed in between. The proportion of the European physicians who agreed to the statement "My religious beliefs influence my practice of medicine" (95% CI) was 42% (26%-59%) compared with Brazil (36% [29%-43%]), USA (57% [54%-60%]), India (58% [52%-63%]), and Indonesia (91% [84%-95%]).
conclusionsAlthough large cross-cultural variations existed in the samples, 50% of physicians reported to be influenced by their religious beliefs. Religiosity and influence of religious beliefs were most pronounced in India, Indonesia, and a European faith-based hospital. Education regimes of current and future physicians should encompass this influence, and help physicians learn how their personal values influence their clinical practice.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.