Medicine of the Person: Faith, Science and Values in Health Care Provision

International and multi-faith in scope, this important text engages with the need to integrate the scientific basis of healthcare more fully with spiritual, religious and ethical values. Based on the principle of 'medicine of the person', an attitude that embeds personal relationships and ethics in medical practice, the text considers the ideas of Paul Tournier, an influential figure whose thinking has had a substantial impact on the spiritual and psychosocial aspects of routine patient care, particularly in national health services. Bridging the gap between the basic sciences and faith traditions, the contributors cover notions of personhood in different faiths, and its consideration in spirituality and mental health issues, general practice issues, public health, home care for the elderly and neuroscience. This volume offers a broad spectrum of approaches to the needs of patients that is central to the students of the health disciplines and managers in these fields.