Patient Perspectives on Religiously Affiliated Care in Rural and Urban Colorado

Joseph Robert Fuchs*, Jeffrey William Fuchs, Joshua M. Hauser, Marilyn E. Coors

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: Religiously affiliated healthcare organizations play an important role in the delivery of care in the United States. There is a gap in the literature regarding patients’ attitudes toward receiving care at these institutions, especially in geographically diverse populations. Methods: In this two-site pilot study, we conducted a written survey of 141 adult primary care patients at non-religiously affiliated clinics in rural and urban Colorado. Demographic information, measures of religiosity and spirituality, and opinions regarding religiously affiliated care were collected. Results: 73.3% and 69.6% of patients in rural and urban counties, respectively, had no preference as to the religious affiliation of their care. However, patients in the urban county (24.1%) were more likely than those in the rural county (8.3%) to prefer care that was not affiliated with any religion. Conclusions: This study suggests that concerns such as proximity to care and patient/provider relationships may be more important to patients than the possible religious affiliation of a healthcare organization. This work is a first step in better understanding patients’ attitudes toward religiously affiliated care in urban versus rural settings.

Original languageEnglish (US)
JournalJournal of Primary Care and Community Health
Volume12
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021

Keywords

  • patient preference
  • religion
  • rural
  • spirituality
  • urban

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Community and Home Care

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