Spirituality/Medicine Interface Project
Spirituality Across the Lifespan
Abstract
What do physicians need to know to help their patients deal with the impact that spirituality can have on their health and medical outcomes? The following special section in the SMJ addresses a variety of topics covering spirituality over the lifespan. Spiritual needs that are relevant to the patient's health and medical care differ at every life stage and depend on the psychosocial tasks of that stage.1 This is because religious involvement is widespread in the United States. Belief in God ranges from 85% in teens aged 13 to 17 to 95% of adults over age 75; weekly religious attendance is reported by 41% of teens to 60% of those over age 75; and religion/faith is pretty or very important in 51% of teens to 75% of older adults (see Fig. 1).2–3This content is limited to qualifying members.
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References
1. Erikson EH. The Life Cycle Completed. New York, WW Norton, 1982.
2. National Study of Youth and Religion, 2002-2003. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Available at: http://www.youthandreligion.org/publications/docs/PortraitsProtTeens.pdf. Accessed July 2, 2006.
3. Gallup GH Jr. The Religiosity Cycle. June 4, 2002. Gallup Brain: The Gallup Organization. Available at: http://brain.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=6124. Accessed July 2, 2006.
