Handbook of Religion and Health

Harold G. Koenig is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and assiciate professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center, and is a distinguished adjunct professor at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He is director of Duke University's Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health in Durham, North Carolina. Dana E. King is professor of family medicine and vice chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. Verna Benner Carson is associate professor of nursing at Towson University in Fallston, Maryland.

• Foreword (Linda George) ; Preface (Jeff Levin) ; Introduction ; I. Background ; 1. A history of religion, medicine, and health care ; 2. Definitions ; II. Debating religion's effects on health ; 3. Religion: good or bad? ; 4. Coping with stress ; 5. Religion and coping ; III. Research on religion and mental health ; 6. Well-being and positive emotions ; 7. Depression ; 8. Suicide ; 9. Anxiety disorders ; 10. Psychotic disorders ; 11. Alcohol and drug use ; 12. Delinquency and crime ; 13. Marital instability ; 14. Personality and personality disorder ; 15. Understanding religion's effects on mental health ; IV. Research on religion and physical health ; 16. Heart disease ; 17. Hypertension ; 18. Cerebrovascular disease ; 19. Alzheimer's disease and dementia ; 20. Immune fuctions ; 21. Endocrine system ; 22. Cancer 23. Mortality 24. Physical disability 25. Pain and somatic symptoms ; 26. Health behaviors ; 27. Disease prevention ; V. Understanding the religion-physical health relationship ; 28. Psychological, social, and behavioral pathways ; 29. Conclusions ; Appendix. Studies on religion and health (by health outcome) ; References ; Index

This book provides a fascinating look at the role of religion and the use of health services against the background of the current availability of and access to health care across all segments of society... This is an unparalleled resource not only for physicians with an interest in the relationship between religion and health but perhaps even more for those who doubt its significance. All physicians should consider the possibility that something so meaningful to a large number of patients might also be good for their health.