Exploratory Qualitative Research

Spirituality is defined in regards to health care and why spirituality is important to client care is discussed. Nursing care that can nurture a patient’s spirituality include quietly being there to listen to our patients, knowing when to seek a formally trained ministers assistance, and being willing to participate in their spiritual and cultural customs. Spiritual assessment tools can be utilized by healthcare providers to help assess a patient’s spiritual need and to help formulate an individualized plan of care. Three spiritual assessment tools are discussed: HOPE questions, FICA spiritual assessment tool, and the four FACTs spiritual assessment tool. Three personal examples of implementation of spiritual care are included in this paper.

A spiritual and psychological inventory can be useful in helping someone to determine their current state of wellness. Kathleen Dowling Singh (2000) talks about how a spiritual assessment is helpful when people are close to dying as they begin to honestly and urgently examine their lives. Singh (2000) also suggests that regardless of how much time we have left to live, answering the questions in a spiritual inventory will help provide direction to our lives. The following questions were developed for this purpose and were used for an interview, the responses from the interview follows in Appendix A.

This article can be used as a way to further support my argument about how most patients don’t utilize all of the benefits that hospice has to offer. There are some cases where people choose not to receive spiritual support due to

Ando, M., & Morita, T. (2010). Efficacy of the structured life review and the short-term life review on the spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients. Health. 2010;02(04):342–6.

The primary thing that was similar about all response was that each individual was open to receiving spiritual care from other as long as that care was respectful of the individual’s beliefs. I believe that humans have a fundamental need to connect with others, and when spiritual need is amplified by physical illness we will be happy to receive support as long as it is done in a respectful manner. In Radical Loving Care, Chapman (2006) states that there are many parts of the medical experience that care takers do to and for patients, and many of these has nothing to do with medical care. I agree that spiritual care is separate from medical care, but it also coequal to medical care especially for patients facing the ends of their

Religion and spirituality is a major essential part of one’s’ health. They have included things such as prayer in healing, counseling, and the use of meditation. Spiritual issues make a difference in an individual’s experience of illness and health. With spirituality, the health care providers can learn to support the values for the art of healing. The health care provider must have respect for their patient’s religion. (Larry Dossey. Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine. Harper Collins, San Francisco. 1993.)

In my opinion, it may be difficult to define health because it may vary from one person to another depending on one’s perception about health. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not just the absence of disease (Saylor, 2004). However, I feel that the WHO definition of health misses a very important aspect of health which is spirituality. According to Anye et al. (2013), spirituality is associated “with a more positive outlook and better quality of life”. In fact, they found that in patients with advanced stages of cancer, religious belief was associated with higher life satisfaction and patients who engaged in religious activity reported higher levels of happiness and had positive outcomes (Anye et al. 2013). In addition, studies have shown that mental health patients who have consistently identified spiritual needs as an important issue to them had symptoms of relief and general well-being (Chidarikire, 2012).

For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and

One of the most difficult yet, pivotal times in a person 's’ life is when they are reaching the end of their life’s journey. A common coping mechanism utilized in the current hospice care system is spiritual care. However, when patients and their families hear the word “spirituality” they often think this type of care focuses exclusively on religious affiliations. While a person’s religious views greatly influence one’s spirituality, many researchers agree a person’s spirituality can take on a variety forms and meanings. For example, some people view their spirituality in a religious form, while others view their spirituality in a more general and non-religious form, which can make a hospice social worker, or chaplain’s job challenging at times. Because the current elderly society is rapidly growing in numbers, it is critical that further research is concentrated on the training and social work curriculum of spiritual care, so hospice social workers can become more culturally and spiritually competent, and ultimately possess the proper skills to adequately offer spiritual assistance as an option to ease the death, dying and grieving process for patients and their families.

This study was reviewed, and approved by the institutional review board. This used a functional assessment of the chronic illness therapy, which was abbreviated as, (FACIT). This is a measurement system, which consists of a collection of quality of life questions, concentrated in the management of different chronic illnesses. Patients registered, read, and agreed to the study, and grant permission to participate in the study on the website, www.facit.org. After participants met the criteria for the study, those completed a self-report of questions which had evaluated the fatigue and spiritual well-being of the patient. Within this prospective study, the patients were at one point screened during the time of the cancer being active treatment. (1.

When looking at the concept of spirituality many may see this as obsolete when it comes to nursing care, but it helps to incorporate a more holistic approach to nursing care. Richard Savel, MD, and Cindy Munro, RN, PhD, ANP, stated in the American Journal of Critical Care (2014), “As nurses and doctors we ought to take a few moments to ponder the spiritual aspects of any patient interaction; doing so empowers all parties involved and has the potential to promote serenity, tranquility, understanding, and a sense of completeness.” Spirituality has helped patients to find purpose and fulfillment which aids in uncovering inner strengths and reserves that ultimately improve their overall health (Younas,

Spiritual integration in nursing includes providing care to an individual as a whole, considering their social and mental factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of the disease that are presented subjectively or objectively. Rom 15:1 (New International version), can be interpreted as that the nurses have the responsibility of providing care to the patients, in their vulnerable time of sickness without taking credit for it, because God have chosen them to do so for his own glory. Spirituality can have different definitions, to some it can mean having faith in religion, and to others it can mean inner strength through life experiences that bring inspiration. Whereas, many people do not even know they practice spirituality on daily basis, but as nurses we are part of healing process. Recognizing how patient view their health and spiritual needs, can help speedup healing process. This paper will address my recent interaction with an ill patient, how I applied my spiritual belief, values, and faith, and my strength and weakness and areas of improvement in taking care of patient.

Through the review Chi (2007) completed, she also found that hope and control were significantly correlated with one another, and that hope in turn was significantly correlated with a client’s level of coping. Considering our own experiences it is easy to understand and accept these correlations as true . Chi (2007) also found that religions played a role in ones ability to cope effectively and adjust to their illness. This could be due in part to religion’s ability to instil hope and give individuals meaning in their life. Religion and prayer were also determined by individuals as one of the most common strategies to maintain hope (Chi, 2007).

“We hypothesized QOL and depressed mood would both be explained by extent of spiritual well-being, and meaning-focused (M&P) spirituality would have a stronger impact than faith-focused spirituality” (Wilson et al., 2017, p. 491). The independent variable of this experiment is the well-being of the patients post spinal cord injury and the dependent variable is the patient having spinal cord injuries. Data analysis from the study proved that “The findings support that spirituality, as measured by the FACIT-Sp, is strongly associated with QOL and likelihood of MDD” (Wilson et al., 2017, p. 492). MDD is also known as Major Depressive Disorder and was found common among the patients who suffer spinal cord injuries in the experiment. The research team concluded that giving the patient a sense of meaning and peace appears to be of great importance when it comes to the health and well-being of a post spinal cord injury

Spirituality is a delicate topic, and some may not be open to talking about their beliefs. Spirituality is generally understood to be an essential aspect of being human (Lyndo-Lam, 2012). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients is a key component in the nursing process. A compassionate and thoughtful nurse can make a patient feel more secure, making it easier for him to express his spirituality. The participation of both patient and health care provider is vital in promoting spiritual health. The main focus of a spiritual assessment is to gather information regarding the patient’s spiritual needs in order incorporate them into the plan of care, so as to treat