OBJECTIVE To determine the acceptability of porcine and bovine surgical implants among persons of Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu faiths whose beliefs prohibit them from consuming porcine and bovine products. DATA SOURCES An evaluation of current literature concerning religious beliefs among persons of Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu faiths was undertaken to determine if animal-derived surgical implants ...

Religion is an important element of end-of-life care on the paediatric intensive care unit with religious belief providing support for many families and for some staff. However, religious claims used by families to challenge cessation of aggressive therapies considered futile and burdensome by a wide range of medical and lay people can cause considerable problems and be very difficult to resolv...

There abound antagonisms in the health care practice and the religious beliefs of people from different societies. When health care practices cross the line of their beliefs, the people will rise to the occasion and oppose the practices. Religion and science are two opposing doctrines. What scientists believe sometimes collide with what different religious contexts uphold. An example where ther...

This article examines theodicy-the vindication of God's goodness and justice in the face of the existence of evil from the perspectives of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We focus on the thought processes that chaplains, social workers, and other professionals may use in their care interventions to address issues of theodicy for patients. Theodical issues may cause anxiety and distress for be...

Patient-centred system of care is essential in managing many disorders such as diabetes mellitus. The cultural and religious context can influence the involvement of patients and their families in such a care. We intend to discuss patient-centred care in diabetology in view of Islam. For more clarification, we will take into consideration a few illustrative lines of argument in detail about sit...

The medical mission field is an innovative setting for training and evaluating health care professional students. The motivating factor of serving indigent populations as a means of a humanitarian, or oftentimes a spiritual act, makes medical missions an attractive option for student participation. At the Gregory School of Pharmacy, medical mission teams are an integral part of the pharmacy pro...

The assumption that the United States has a health care system that is organized to ensure health care for the population is an erroneous one. In reality, there is relatively little true organization within the health care sector, which consists of a large number of independent businesses with missions that range from charitable to entrepreneurial. Even the not-for-profit businesses must compet...

Army medical professionals must maintain the high level of proficiency required to fulfill the Army's medical missions of supporting military operations and providing beneficiary care. Because beneficiary care demands in a U.S. medical treatment facility (MTF) do not mirror those in a combat setting and sometimes can exceed the MTF's capacity, some MTFs enter into agreements with local civilian...

To evaluate the potential problems facing academic health centers (AHCs) as a result of market-driven health care reforms, we conducted case studies of seven nationally prominent AHCs during 1994. Findings suggest that although AHCs were not yet feeling the predicted impact of competition on their financial health and ability to sustain their academic missions of teaching, research, and care of...