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Clergy-laity support and patients’ mood during serious illness: A cross-sectional epidemiologic study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 August 2011

Judith C. Hays ,
Laura Wood ,
Karen Steinhauser ,
Maren K. Olson ,
Jennifer H. Lindquist  and
James A. Tulsky
Judith C. Hays*
Affiliation:
Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina Center for the Study of Aging, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Laura Wood
Affiliation:
Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Karen Steinhauser
Affiliation:
Center for the Study of Aging, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Center for Palliative Care, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Maren K. Olson
Affiliation:
Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
Jennifer H. Lindquist
Affiliation:
Biostatistics & Bioinformatics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
James A. Tulsky
Affiliation:
Duke University School of Nursing, Durham, North Carolina Center for the Study of Aging, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Center for Palliative Care, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Judith C. Hays, 3605 Stonegate Dr., Durham, NC 27705. E-mail: judith.hays@duke.edu
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Abstract

Objectives:

Religious participation is positively associated with mental health, but attendance at worship services declines during serious illness. This study assessed whether home visits by clergy or laity provide benefits to seriously ill patients who may have difficulty attending religious services.

Method:

A cross-sectional study design nested in an observational epidemiologic cohort study was used. The regionally representative sample of patients had metastatic lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer (n = 70); Class III and IV congestive heart failure (n = 70); or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with hypercapnea (n = 70) and were observed regarding clergy–laity support in their natural environments. Dependent variable: 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale. Independent variable: A one-item question measuring how much helpful support patients received from clergy or other persons from church, temple, synagogue, or mosque. Covariates: demographic, health, social support, religiousness.

Results:

Depressed mood was negatively associated with clergy–laity support in a non-linear pattern. Depressed mood was also positively associated with functional deficits and a lifetime history of difficulties related to religious involvement.

Significance of results:

In lieu of worship attendance when people are sick, home visits by members of a patient's religious community may bolster mood by providing continuity of instrumental, emotional, and spiritual support.

Keywords

Palliative careDepressionReligious participationSocial support
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , September 2011 , pp. 273 - 280
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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