Duke University medical professor Harold Koenig teaches that religious faith can affect a person's health and recovery from illness.

He advises doctors to listen to a patient's spiritual concerns as well as physical and mental health issues.

Koenig, founding co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke University Medical Center, will speak to health care professionals and clergy in Honolulu meetings next week.

He will give a free public lecture at 9 a.m. next Saturday on “;The Healing Connection”; between faith and health. The talk at Harris United Methodist Church, 20 S. Vineyard Blvd., is sponsored by the Pacific Health Ministry.

“;There is resistance (among professionals) to the idea,”; said Koenig, who has done 25 research projects on the connection and has written extensively on the subject. He speaks to hospitals, health organizations, government agencies on the role of spirituality in patient care.

“;Only about 5 percent of doctors have training on how to do it,”; said Koenig in a telephone interview. “;But 75 percent of medical schools are offering courses on how to talk with patients about spiritual issues, how to address the spiritual needs that come up when people have to cope with illness, chronic health issues. There is a lot of need among dying patients.

“;For most of history, health care was delivered by religious orders. Only in the past 100 years has it been delivered by secular health care providers.”;

“;I'm not asking a doctor to be a minister,”; said Koenig, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral science and associate professor of medicine. “;But a doctor has to be comfortable talking with patients about what's important to the patient.

“;Faith plays a role in helping people to cope with illnesses and stresses. It affects their well-being, their sense of satisfaction, their coping ability,”; said the professor, whose research has looked into faith's effects on patient immune function and cardiovascular function. A person with a belief system might “;have better recovery, have lower blood pressure, have longer survival. A religious person recovers more quickly from depression,”; he said.

“;There has been other research that shows someone who prays may not lose cognitive ability as fast ... the speed of memory loss is slower for people religiously involved. We don't know the mechanism.”;

Koenig said he became interested in the connection as a nurse whose task was to ask people how they are coping, and later as a family physician who continued to ask the question. “;What I heard from patients was the role their faith was playing, their prayers. This seemed so important to so many. Nothing had been done in the way of research.

“;Religion was criticized by mental health professionals and mental health professionals were criticized by religion. That's where the great divide was for a century. It's beginning to change.”;

Koenig will speak to doctors and nurses Friday morning at the Queen's Medical Center.

He will speak to island clergy at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Olivet Baptist Church, 1775 S. Beretania St., on “;Spirituality and Patient Care: the Healing Power of Spirituality for Persons in Crisis.”; It is free and open to all clergy. Pacific Health Ministry requests reservations by Thursday by calling 591-6556 or writing to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).