Colorado researchers study nexus between religion and hospitals

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus found that a small minority of Americans surveyed consider the religious affiliation of the hospitals that treat them, but a majority said they didn’t want religious doctrine dictating their healthcare choices. The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, surveyed 1,446 adults and found that just 6.4% considered a facility’s religious affiliation when choosing a hospital. Yet 71.4%, said that care should not be curtailed by religious dogma. This was especially true among women who are often denied healthcare at Catholic hospitals, including birth control, tubal ligations and in vitro fertilization. Another concern is access to medical aid in dying being denied at religious hospitals. Catholic hospitals in particular are expanding rapidly across the country, often acquiring existing secular hospitals, and in some cases they do not advertise their religious underpinnings. Exact statistics are hard to find, but one ACLU study indicated that Catholic hospitals accounted for one-third of all hospital beds in Colorado. Compassion & Choices (C&C), an AgeWise Colorado Provider that advocates for autonomy in healthcare decision-making, notes that Catholic-affiliated hospitals in the U.S. grew by 28% over the last two decades while the number of nonreligious hospitals dropped 14%. C&C states that patients should legally have access to a facility’s religious directives in order to make informed decisions about where to get care.