title: Religion and Spiritual Care in Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Parental Attitudes Regarding Physician Spiritual and Religious Inquiry.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Parents of seriously ill children require attention to their spiritual needs, especially during end-of-life care. The objective of this study was to characterize parental attitudes regarding physician inquiry into their belief system. Materials and Main Results: A total of 162 surveys from parents of children hospitalized for >48 hours in pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary academic medical center were analyzed. Forty-nine percent of all respondents and 62% of those who identified themselves as moderate to very spiritual or religious stated that their beliefs influenced the decisions they made about their child's medical care. Although 34% of all respondents would like their physician to ask about their spiritual or religious beliefs, 48% would desire such enquiry if their child was seriously ill. Those who identified themselves as moderate to very spiritual or religious were most likely to welcome the discussion ( P < .001). Two-thirds of the respondents would feel comforted to know that their child's physician prayed for their child. One-third of all respondents would feel very comfortable discussing their beliefs with a physician, whereas 62% would feel very comfortable having such discussions with a chaplain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study findings suggest parental ambivalence when it comes to discussing their spiritual or religious beliefs with their child's physicians. Given that improved understanding of parental spiritual and religious beliefs may be important in the decision-making process, incorporation of the expertise of professional spiritual care providers may provide the optimal context for enhanced parent-physician collaboration in the care of the critically ill child.
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Tsovinar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arutyunyan
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Folafoluwa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Odetola
authors.affiliation: 2 Spiritual Care Department, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Swieringa
authors.affiliation: 1 Division of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niedner
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002604:Chaplaincy Service, Hospital; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D012067:Religion; D029181:Spirituality; D013727:Terminal Care / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: decision-making; pediatric intensive care unit; religious belief; spiritual care; spiritual history