The conference, given by Dr. María Elizabeth de los Ríos, highlighted the importance of a comprehensive and humanistic approach to health care.
On February 11, 2025, Dr. María Eizabeth de los Ríos Uriarte, research coordinator of the School of Bioethics, gave the conference “Spirituality of Health” at the IMSS Foundation, during which she addressed the need to understand health from a comprehensive perspective that includes not only physical, mental and social well-being, but also spiritual well-being.
In her presentation, she also analyzed how health has been conceived in different ways throughout history, recognizing it both as an individual good and as a social right. Similarly, she explained that in the current context, the commercialization of medical services has caused a loss of autonomy in personal care, so it is essential to recover a humanistic approach that encourages individual responsibility for their own health.
She also stressed that health care should not be limited to curing diseases, but should also be understood as a healing process. In this regard, she pointed out that compassion and empathy play an essential role in building a doctor-patient relationship based on respect and trust, thus promoting greater patient empowerment in self-care.
During the conference, Dr. De los Rios reflected on some of the main challenges currently facing healthcare, such as materialistic reductionism, utilitarianism in healthcare decision-making, excessive digitalization and its repercussions on mental health, as well as inequity in access to medical services. In the face of these challenges, she emphasized the importance of promoting human dignity, solidarity and shared responsibility in the search for more equitable and humanized health.
The School of Bioethics congratulates Dr. María Elizabeth for her valuable contribution to the reflection on spirituality in health, highlighting the need for a model of medical care that considers the person in an integral way and that recognizes the central role of spiritual well-being in individual and community balance.
More information:
MPSS Ana Sofía García Hazas
MPSS Camile Bertrand Carpio
Facultad de Bioética
bioética@anahuac.mx
