In reply: Despite recent changes in Australian culture, Peach underestimates the importance of religious beliefs to older Australians likely to see physicians today.1-3 As people age and experience negative life events, such as medical illness, longitudinal studies show that they become more and more religious.4
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Correspondence:
- 1. do Rozario L. Spirituality in the lives of people with disability and chronic illness: a creative paradigm of wholeness and reconstitution. Disabil Rehabil 1997; 19: 427-434.
- 2. Daly J, Jackson D, Davidson P. The experience of hope for survivors of acute myocardial infarction. Aust J Adv Nurs 1999; 16: 38-44.
- 3. D'Souza R. Do patients expect psychiatrists to be interested in spiritual issues? Australas Psychiatry 2002; 10: 44-47.
- 4. Wink P, Dillon M. Spiritual development across the adult life course: findings from a longitudinal study. J Adult Dev 2002; 9: 79-94.
- 5. Koenig H, Bearon L, Dayringer R. Physician perspectives on the role of religion in the physician–older patient relationship. J Fam Pract 1989; 28: 441-448.
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