Religion and Spirituality in Surrogate Decision Making for Hospitalized Older Adults.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 46 surrogate decision makers for hospitalized older adults to characterize the role of spirituality and religion in decision making. Three themes emerged: (1) religion as a guide to decision making, (2) control, and (3) faith, death and dying. For religious surrogates, religion played a central role in end of life decisions. There was variability regarding whether God or humans were perceived to be in control; however, beliefs about control led to varying perspectives on acceptance of comfort-focused treatment. We conclude that clinicians should attend to religious considerations due to their impact on decision making.
Franciscan St. Francis Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Kristin N
KN
Geros-Willfond
Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics, Indiana University (IU) Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA.|Daniel F. Evans Center for Spiritual and Religious Values in Healthcare, IU Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Steven S
SS
Ivy
IU Center for Aging Research, Regenstrief Institute, Inc., 410 W. 10th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
Kianna
K
Montz
Critical Care and Pulmonary Medicine, Community Hospital Network, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Sara E
SE
Bohan
Fairbanks Center for Medical Ethics, Indiana University (IU) Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA. atorke@iu.edu.|Daniel F. Evans Center for Spiritual and Religious Values in Healthcare, IU Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA. atorke@iu.edu.|IU Center for Aging Research, Regenstrief Institute, Inc., 410 W. 10th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA. atorke@iu.edu.|Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA. atorke@iu.edu.
Alexia M
AM
Torke
D000368:Aged; D001293:Attitude to Death; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D026441:Mind-Body Therapies; D012068:Religion and Medicine; D029181:Spirituality; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*
Proxy; Religion; Spirituality; Surrogate decision making