Supernatural Explanations of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders Among Health Care Professionals at an Academic Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Saudi society is one of many where supernatural explanations for neurological and psychiatric disorders are prevalent among lay persons. The frequency of such beliefs among health care professionals in this country, however, is unknown. The frequency of supernatural explanations for neurological and psychiatric disorders was assessed in 126 health care professionals at an academic medical center in Jeddah. A high frequency of belief in supernatural factors as a cause for neurological and psychiatric illness, including the evil eye, divine testing and punishment, and sorcery, was found. Younger age and more junior level of training were associated with a higher likelihood of belief in supernatural causation. A surprisingly high prevalence of supernatural explanations was found among these health care professionals, 80% of whom were attending physicians or physicians in training. Future studies should focus on the potential impact of these beliefs on clinical practice.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Tayeb, H; Khayat, A; Milyani, H; Alsawwaf, Y; Alzaben, F; Koenig, HG
Published Date
- August 2018
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 206 / 8
Start / End Page
- 589 - 592
PubMed ID
- 30020211
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1539-736X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1097/NMD.0000000000000838
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States