Page 151 - Human Rights

Faculty of Nursing
Adult care Nursing Department

In a pluralistic and tolerant society, the right to spiritual support and religious assistance, as a

patient’s option, seems fundamental.

Although there is a clear separation between the state and the church in liberal democracies, the

right to personal self-determination is the backbone of democracy.

Therefore, patients’ spiritual support is of special relevance in the hospital context.

This assistance reflects the fact that the human being, enjoying personal freedom, is a relational

being living collectively (Rego and Nunes 2019).

Unconditional respect for this right can be achieved by guar anteing freedom of conscience and
religion to all patients in the healthcare system by offering the possibility of spiritual and religious

identification, regulating this assistance in all healthcare services, promoting the existence of

physical spaces (places of worship) and financial resources for this purpose, and sensitizing
healthcare professionals to the existence of this right.

It is a new vision of social responsibility to ensure the full exercise of this right (Brando et al. 2013).

As noted, there are different ways in which patients can be subject to discrimination in the

healthcare system, whether by disease or disability, system inefficiencies, gender or social

condition, or the way science is organized on a global scale.

Besides the existence of adequate legislation and the creation of effective IRAs that control these

practices, one way of preventing discrimination in the health care system is to give all patients the

opportunity to show their discomfort about the way healthcare was delivered.

The evolution of healthcare systems worldwide has been accompanied by citizens’ awareness of

their rights and duties, particularly regarding the existence of effective accountability mechanisms,

and complaints and claims (Nunes et al. 2009).

140 Academic Year 2025/2026