Physicians' religiosity and attitudes towards patients

Many religions underline the value of merciful acts, especially the care of the sick. The aim of the survey was to verify the hypothesis that a higher religiosity correlates with a more desirable ethical attitude towards patients. An anonymous questionnaire consisting of standardized tools: Scale of Attitudes towards the Patient (SAtP) (four dimensions: respect for autonomy, altruism, empathy and holistic approach to a patient), the Scale of Religious Attitudes (SReAt) evaluating the religiosity, and some questions related to the role of religious beliefs in respondents' professional lives. The research was carried out on a group of 528 Polish physicians, 324 of whom returned the questionnaire (return = 61%); 51% women, 49% men; average work experience: 17.03 years; 93% Catholics. Religiosity correlates positively with altruism (r=0.12; p