title: Religion, Spirituality, or Existentiality in Bad News Interactions: The Perspectives and Practices of Physicians in India.
abstract: A qualitative study was conducted to identify the role of religion, spirituality, or existentiality in clinical interactions. Grounded theory design was used to generate narrative data from 27 physicians working in four teaching hospitals in Karnataka, India, using a semi-structured interview schedule. Physicians reported that they explored religious, spiritual, and existential beliefs and practices of patients, along with other psychosocial and disease aspects, to assess their tolerance to bad news, to make decisions about delivering it, and to address the distress that might emerge from receiving bad news. They also reported taking recourse to religious or spiritual practices to cope with their own stress and feelings of failure.
authors.affiliation: Social Aetiology of Mental Illness (SAMI) CIHR Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 455 Spadina Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5S 2G8, Canada, lawrence.martis@utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martis
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Westhues
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005086:Existentialism / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D066296:Grounded Theory; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D029181:Spirituality; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires