We are developing surveys to characterize the spiritual lives of people. Do people engage in spiritual practices? Have spiritual experiences? Belong to a religion? What are their communities like? This work lays a foundation for all our other projects.

We routinely speak with many people to make sure our surveys are clear, complete, and respectful to people with very different backgrounds.

People make choices about things like genetic testing, vaccinations, and organ donation. What is the connection between people’s spiritual life and their attitudes, values, and choices about healthcare?

We know that attitudes toward healthcare activities are strongly connected to people’s religion. But we do not know why. We will explore possible connections to religious moral teaching, faith communities, and diverse religious practices including attending religious services, prayer, and meditation.

Being an effective healthcare worker or leader is often difficult and stressful and demands personal sacrifice. Some people who work in healthcare stand out from the pack. Their co-workers recognize them as exemplars or role models. They represent the values and skills we most want to see. We want to know: Does the spiritual life of role models in healthcare affect their work? Does it inspire, guide, or sustain their work? What specific practices or dimensions of the spiritual life, if any, are most strongly associated with role models?

Religion sometimes divides people on important issues, and it can lead people to refuse some healthcare options. We want to know: Can sharing stories foster mutual understanding and respect? We also want to know how: How can people working in public health engage faith leaders and people of faith in a respectful manner?

We will explore respectful engagement with faith communities in most of our major research projects on specific topics such as genetic testing, prenatal genetic testing, organ donation, healthcare access, and vaccination.