OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between religious fatalism and health care utilization, health behaviors, and chronic illness. METHODS: As part of Nashville's REACH 2010 project, residents (n=1273) participated in a random telephone survey that included health variables and the helpless inevitability subscale of the Religious Health Fatalism Questionnaire. RESULTS: Religious health fatalism was higher among African Americans and older participants. Some hypotheses about the association between fatalism and health outcomes were confirmed. CONCLUSION: Religious fatalism is only partially predictive of health behaviors and outcomes and may be a response to chronic illness rather than a contributor to unhealthy behaviors.
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Franklin et al. (2008) studied this question.