Peculiarities of patients' attitude to religion in healthcare institutes of the Krasnoyarsk region

  1. Lemma
  2. Особенности отношения пациентов стационарных учреждений здравоохранения города Красноярска к религии
  3. Russian
  4. Asliturk, Miriam
  5. Scientific theories and disciplines > Medicine - Culture and national identities
  6. 21-10-2017
  7. Труфанов, Д. О. [Author]. Особенности отношения пациентов стационарных учреждений здравоохранения города Красноярска к религии
  8. Сибирское медицинское обозрение
  9. medicine - public opinion surveys - religious tolerance - religious identity
  10. Click Here
    1. <p>Труфанов, Д. О., Рафиков, Р. Г., & Кутумова, О. Ю. Особенности отношения пациентов стационарных учреждений здравоохранения города Красноярска к религии. <em>Сибирское медицинское обозрение</em>, 61 (1), 88-93, 2010. Retrieved from <a href="https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osobennosti-otnosheniya-patsientov-statsionarnyh-uchrezhdeniy-zdravoohraneniya-goroda-krasnoyarska-k-religii">https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/osobennosti-otnosheniya-patsientov-statsionarnyh-uchrezhdeniy-zdravoohraneniya-goroda-krasnoyarska-k-religii</a>  </p>
    1. The article points out that the Krasnoyarsk region has always been multi-confessional. In 2009, it had 283 registered religious organizations and more than thirty religious cults. Moreover, over a thousand unregistered communities and associations operated as religious groups. The specificity of Krasnoyarsk lies in the numerical predominance of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as in the traditionally strong presence of Protestantism, Islam and Catholicism; the Last Testament Church (or Vissarion’s Community) has its all-Russian centre in the south of the region.

      The authors explain that this is the reason why questions of religion tolerance, religious self-identification and commitment to religious practice are so relevant for the Krasnoyarsk region and were studied by in survey conducted at various Krasnoyarsk medical institutions. The purpose was to better understand the needs of patients as regards religion and to understand what measures medical institutions can undertake in response to these needs.

      An analysis of 300 questionnaires completed by patients of the Regional Clinical Hospital and the City Clinical Hospital showed that the absolute majority (84%) of the patients considered themselves to be believers: 78% of respondents identified themselves as Orthodox Christians, 6% as practitioners of non-Orthodox cults, and 16% said they did not adhere to any religion. The respondents in many cases showed intolerant attitude toward certain religions, which, according to the authors of the article, is due to their lack of systematic knowledge of the history and essence of religions, a weak source base and often an odious character of the information they received. Patients indicated that they had obtained most information about religion from the media - television (65%) and periodical press (57%). About half of the respondents stated that they received information exclusively from mass media. Family, Church and literature were mentioned as another important source (20 to 23%) of information on religion. The authors point out contradictory responses of many respondents: on the one hand, they talked about lack of trust toward certain religions; on the other hand, they advocated equal rights for all confessions and inter-confessional dialogue on a personal level.

      Although only 4% of the respondents (who considered themselves to be practicing believers) mentioned going to Church or another religious institutions every week, the majority of them emphasised the need for religious practices and the dissemination of information on religion in the clinics and hospitals of Krasnoyarsk. They also supported the creation of temples and prayer rooms in medical institutions (75%), organizing meetings with priests (73%), the establishment of sisterhoods of charity (70%), conducting religious ceremonies in hospitals (53%), and the dissemination of religious literature (49%).

      The authors conclude by stating that the results of the study will serve as the basis for creating conditions in Krasnoyarsk region healthcare institutions that will facilitate the implementation of the compensatory function of religion, which will help to increase the efficiency of the work of hospitals.