Do you want to avoid the hassle of traveling with your printed poster? IAPHS2026 is pleased to make poster printing available to you through our supplier PosterSessionOnline. Your poster will be professionally reviewed, printed and shipped directly to Portland and you will be able to pick it up from the Poster desk. Click here to learn more.
Primary Submission Category: Public Health Communication and Trust
Exploring public attitudes towards religiously affiliated health care in the U.S.
Authors: Marian Ali, Gabrielle Sylvester, Margaret Tait,
Presenting Author: Marian Ali*
Background: A considerable percentage of U.S. healthcare institutions are religiously affiliated, yet we know relatively little about how these affiliations shape public attitudes regarding trust and fairness in healthcare or if individuals are aware of a healthcare institution’s religious affiliations. The present research examines whether people recognize the religious affiliation of a health system, and how they perceive the quality of care, bias, and institutional trust based on the religious identity of a hospital.
Methods: This analysis of national survey data from NORC AmeriSpeak (n=1251) focuses on perceptions of fairness, discrimination, and bias in religiously affiliated healthcare settings, presenting results among religious and non-religious respondents. Additionally, we conducted qualitative analysis on an open-ended question to assess whether respondents recognize the religious affiliation of a hospital, providing deeper insight into how institutional identity shapes perceptions of healthcare access and equity.
Results: Among respondents who identified religious affiliation among hospitals, 16% disagreed that physicians and staff at Catholic hospitals “really care about them as a person”. The most frequent qualitative response was “Don’t Know”, suggesting low public awareness of religious affiliation in hospital identification.
Conclusion: This research has significant implications for healthcare access, policy-making, and religious diversity in medical institutions. Informing patients of possible limitations of services, recognizing that certain forms of care are restricted at Catholic hospitals, and their rights as healthcare consumers is necessary to ensure trust and fairness in treatment.