Doctors and nurses are all too human and subject to emotional stress as they work hour after hour with victims of the virus. But those with a religious faith have an edge, research is showing us. Of course that applies to all of us.
"Religious service attendance is associated with a lower risk of death from despair among registered nurses and health care professionals," writes Li-juan Wang, MD, PhD., lead author in a study published in the Journal of the Amercan Medical Association. "These results may be important in understanding trends in deaths from despair in the general population."
In this cohort study of 66 492 female registered nurses and 43 141 male health care professionals in the US, attendance at religious services at least once per week was associated with a 68% lower hazard of death from despair among women and a 33% lower hazard among men compared with never attendance. The findings suggest that frequent attendance at religious services is associated with lower subsequent risk of deaths from despair.
We've known for some time that attending religious services is good for our health; this research extends that to the medical profession.