ArticleBMJ open2021
What do doctors understand by spiritual health? A survey of UK general practitioners.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Spirituality and spiritual care in palliative and terminal illness: a systematic review and epistemic meta-analysis from physicians' hermeneutic and bioethical perspective.BMC palliative care · 2025Pooled it
- Systematic review of the relationship between burn-out and spiritual health in doctors.BMJ open · 2023Pooled it
- What has been used to improve patients' spiritual health in primary care: A realist review.The European journal of general practice · 2026Review
- "We Don't Normally Go Down This Avenue; This Is Normally Taboo": Using Co-Design to Develop a Training Intervention for Spiritual Health in Primary Care.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026Article
- What is 'Spiritual Health'? A Survey of Social Prescribers in the United Kingdom.Journal of religion and health · 2026Article
- Article
- Discussing spiritual health in primary care and the HOPE tool - a survey of social prescribers.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- 'Obviously, you can't outright ask': what are the barriers and facilitators to discussion of spiritual health within social prescribing? A study using semi-structured interviews.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- 'This is the core of what we do': a qualitative study of social prescribers' attitudes towards spiritual health training and their future training needs.BMC primary care · 2025Article
- Evaluation of the HOPE spiritual assessment model: a scoping review of international interest, applications and studies over 20+ years.BMC palliative care · 2025Article
- 'I just felt either I'm going to kill someone or I'm going to end up killing myself'. How does it feel to be burnt out as a practicing UK GP?The European journal of general practice · 2024Article
- Factors affecting the spiritual rehabilitation of people affected by natural disasters: a systematic review.Journal of injury & violence research · 2024Article
- Finnish Palliative Care Nurses' and Physicians' Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Related to Their Attitudes toward End-of-Life Care.Palliative medicine reports · 2024Article
- Spirituality in Australian Health Professional Practice: A Scoping Review and Qualitative Synthesis of Findings.Journal of religion and health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIn the UK, doctors' regulatory and professional bodies require general practitioners (GPs) to consider discussing spiritual health as part of the consultation. However, spiritual health is not defined in guidance, and it is unknown what individual doctors understand by the term. RESEARCH QUESTION: What do GPs understand by the term 'spiritual health'?
aimTo explore how GPs understand and define spiritual health. DESIGN AND
settingSurvey of GPs in England 9 April 2019-21 May 2019.
methodA mixed-methods online survey asked practising GPs in England qualitative free text questions-'What does the term 'Spiritual Health' mean to you?' and 'Any comments?' after five vignettes about discussing spiritual health with patients. These were subject to thematic analysis using a priori themes from the literature on GP definitions of spiritual health, and on attitudes towards the topic.
participants177 practising GPs in England.
results177 GPs responded to the survey. Understanding of spiritual health fitted into three themes: self-actualisation and meaning, transcendence and relationships beyond the self, and expressions of spirituality. A full range of views were expressed, from a minority who challenged their role in spiritual health, through to others enthusiastic about its place in healthcare.
conclusionSpirituality and religiosity are understood by English GPs to be distinct concepts. A consensus definition of spiritual health incorporating the themes identified by working doctors, may be helpful to support GPs to follow the recommended guidance in their 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.