End-of-life care beliefs among Hindu physicians in the United States.
Several studies from the United States and Europe showed that physicians' religiosity is associated with their approach to end-of-life care beliefs. No such studies have focused exclusively on Hindu physicians practicing in the United States. A 34-item questionnaire was sent to 293 Hindu physicians in the United States. Most participants believed that their religious beliefs do not influence their practice of medicine and do not interfere with withdrawal of life support. The US practice of discussing end-of-life issues with the patient, rather than primarily with the family, seems to have been adopted by Hindu physicians practicing in the United States. It is likely that the ethical, cultural, and patient-centered environment of US health care has influenced the practice of end-of-life care by Hindu physicians in this country.
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA vramalingam@mcw.edu.
Vijaya Sivalingam
VS
Ramalingam
Division of Nephrology, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH, USA.
Fahad
F
Saeed
Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
Ramapriya
R
Sinnakirouchenan
Department of Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Carle Physician Group, Urbana, IL, USA.
Jean L
JL
Holley
Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman.
Sinnakirouchenan
S
Srinivasan
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel / Q000208:ethnology; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D018596:Hinduism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013727:Terminal Care; D014481:United States
Hinduism; do not resuscitate; end-of-life care; questionnaire; religiosity; withdrawal of life support