The Need to Adjust the Informed Consent for Jewish Patients for Treatments Involving Porcine Medical Constituents.

In order to obtain full informed consent for medical treatments, it is imperative to provide patients of diverse ethnic backgrounds with all relevant information. Since the pig is considered an impure animal in Judaism, Jewish patients may wish to be informed of porcine-derived substances used in treating. The present study is the first to explore the level of knowledge of Jewish participants as to whether the medical use of pig is permitted by their religion, and the extent to which they believe it should be permitted. 714 Jewish participants completed a study questionnaire that included 15 medical uses of pigs. Findings indicated that the knowledge of Jewish law regarding these uses is a significant mediator in predicting the attitude toward the permissibility of these uses. I conclude with practical recommendations as to how to enhance cultural competence and improve the informed consent process when treating Jewish patients with porcine-derived constituents.