Fulfilment of spiritual and religious needs in modern healthcare in Central and Eastern Europe
Abstract
Health services and their institutions are rarely seen as places where “soft”
cultural matters have importance. The classical European paradigm of evidence-based
medicine perceives human beings from a biological rather than a spiritual perspective.
However, challenges in contemporary Europe (and also in the whole world) show us that we
cannot ignore religious differences in any kinds of public spaces. Eastern European countries
have lost their monoreligious character, and there is a growing number of patients from
different cultures and religious traditions. Western European countries that face mass refugee
movements also need to adapt their health services to the religious demands of both foreign
and domestic patients (including those with acquired citizenship). It is a significant challenge to the legal system as well, with a growing need for structural and systemic solutions. The
academic education of future health service specialists should, meanwhile, be adjusted in line
with these factors and include more courses on interreligious communication, bearing in mind
the lack of proper handbooks for these professions in the Eastern European area at least.
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