The Role of Religious Places in Disease Prevention, Notification, and Control: A Public Health Interface

Abstract

Introduction: Faith-based groups and religious institutions play a vital role in the lives of many individuals and regularly provide communities with social support networks that people can rely upon. Due to the availability, trustworthiness, and reliability of these institutions, they have an unparalleled potential for being a key point to support community-led health initiatives related to disease prevention and control as well as providing an avenue through which to engage with communities on health topics. Moreover, the various functions of religious institutions must be understood in order to strengthen community-based health systems and create effective community-based health initiatives. Method: A narrative literature review of the evidence regarding how religious institutions can affect public health was conducted. The included literature consisted of peer-reviewed articles, reports, and policy reports published in the previous ten years that were obtained through searches of PubMed, Google Scholar, or organizations' websites. Literature that focused on disease prevention, notification, control, psychosocial support, reducing stigma, supporting treatment adherence, humanitarian response, and building resilience in the community was included. Articles were thematically analysed and synthesised using a narrative approach. Results: The review revealed that faith-based organizations are important in helping to control the spread of disease through education about disease prevention, communicating to people how to change behaviours, and recommending ways to prevent transmission of disease. Though they do not provide information for use in formal surveillance systems, they help by promoting early identification of symptoms and connecting people with others for disease notifications. Examples of how faith-based organizations help with controlling disease include reducing stigma associated with disease, increasing adherence to treatment, providing psychosocial support, and providing humanitarian assistance. In addition, they promote awareness of health-related information in communities, create confidence/credibility between health services and their communities, provide better access to health services for people who are marginalized, and promote resilience in communities during times of public health crises. Conclusion: Faith-based organizations provide a supportive and complementary role in many different areas of public health. They do not replace formal sources of health care services. Faith-based organizations can contribute to achieving public health goals of equity and participation by engaging with faith-based organizations strategically. Establishing faith-based organizations into the public health planning and community engagement processes may assist in increasing the responsiveness and resilience of health systems, particularly where there are limited resources.