Spiritual Activities Keep You Healthy, Says Researcher

Addressing the 2015 CRC Chaplain’s Conference, Dr. Harold Koening said engaging in spiritual practices such as prayer, attending church and reading the Bible play important roles in keeping people healthy.

Compared to people who are non-religious, those who have faith in God tend to have lower blood pressure, less depression, better immune function and recover faster from surgery, says Koening, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University.

"We have real evidence from thousands of studies going back many years showing that religion makes a difference in your health," said Koening at the chaplain's conference sponsored by the CRC’s Chaplaincy & Care Ministry.

"We know that many people turn to religion for comfort when they feel stressed," said Koening. "We know that they use their religion to cope with uncertainty, discouragement, loss of control and fear — all of which can play into having an effect on your health."

More than 100 people, about 70 of them chaplains, attended the conference that was held May 28-30 at the Prince Center on the campus of Calvin College.

There were a number of speakers and sessions, with the presentation from Koening being a highlight, said Ron Klimp, director of the Chaplaincy & Care Ministry.

"His grasp of a huge amount of recent research was apparent, but he was also able to interpret and apply it in a very clear, relevant, and sometimes humorous way," said Klimp.

In his presentation, Koening said it is unfortunate that medical professionals tend to ignore — or they simply aren’t aware of — the crucial role chaplains can play in providing spiritual support to patients. 

In the United States, about 20 percent of patients in the hospital and less than one percent in the outpatient setting ever see a chaplain, he said.

"I can't figure out how all of the research I've been sharing has been hiding from health care professionals," Koening said.

He gave his presentation as part of  The Chaplain on the Spiritual Care Team webinar broadcast from his office at Duke to a big screen in the Bytwerk Theater on the campus of Calvin College.

As a way to bring the research on health and spirituality into the health-care community with greater prominence, Koening’s center at Duke has been involved in various efforts, including helping to write Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What, 3rd ed.

In addition, his center is this summer holding a  five-day Summer Research Course on Religion, Spirituality and Health.

Meanwhile, he leading an effort through Adventist Health, the largest, non-profit Protestant health care system in the U.S., to develop spiritual care teams.

The goal is to establish these teams in physician’s offices and then, by using the expertise of chaplains and others, to determine how spirituality might be best delivered in such a large health care system.

As part of this process, the physician does a very short assessment to determine a patient’s religious affiliation, if any, and then passes that on to the receptionist who records the patient’s religious status in the patient's file.

"We're not asking a physician or anyone else to force anything on a patient, but the doctor is the one who has the job to identify a patient's needs," said Koening.

A social worker may be a member of the team  as well.

Serving as the care coordinator is a nurse who makes the referral, when appropriate, to a chaplain.

Often, doctors and others don't realize that chaplains have undergone several years of schooling and training and received special certification to be in that position, said Koening.

As part of their job, chaplains develop spiritual care plans, provide support to a patient, refer to scriptures, give advice when asked for it, offer religious resources, and make themselves available to contact the patient’s clergy person, said Koening.

"We think this this faith-based approach will work in a faith-based system like Adventist Health, but we also think it will work in non faith-based systems," he said. "We think it will work for patient satisfaction, improve medical outcomes, and even lower medical costs."