Religion and spirituality have been used for pain reduction for centuries. Ancient civilizations understood that pain wasn't always related to tangible illness or injury; it could have unseen, spiritual components. Today, despite scientific understanding of pain, the majority of the world’s population relies on religion for comfort in difficult and painful times. However, stigmas against religion in the medical field can impede the utilization of faith in a hospital setting to treat pain. This study’s goal is to understand how spiritual care can help hospitalized religiously observant patients find comfort and overcome physical pain in an effort to make access to medicine more inclusive of diverse communities.

Community Partner: The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York

Zoey Fisher is a member of the class of 2025 originally from Miami, Florida. She is a biochem concentrator passionate about the social determinants of healthcare and global health policy as dictated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. She has worked with various NGOs to lead multiple youth campaigns resulting in her own language being included in UN Resolutions on pandemic preparedness. At Brown Zoey is the Secretary General of the Brown Simulation of the United Nations, a Bonner Fellow, Connect for Health Campus Coordinator, researcher at the Beura Lab for vaccine development, very enthusiastic member of Loving Him Was Brown: the Taylor Swift Club and can sometimes be found cheering on athletes as Bruno! In her free time Zoey enjoys eating any and all food, going to gym and embracing her Jewish heritage at Brown RISD Hillel!