What Role Does Spirituality Play In Health Care

The Bravewell Collaborative. (2015). Spirituality and Religion in Health Care. Retrieved from www.bravewell.org/integrative_medicine/philosophical_foundation/spirituality_and_healthcare/ Curry, K. (n.d.). A Biblical Worldview of Health Care. Retrieved from http://www.hcic.org.au/sites/default/files/imce/Biblical%20Worldview.pdf Mcskimming, S., & Puchalski, C. M. (2006, May).

Traditional hospitals using standard medical treatment and Western-educated personnel tend to treat the patient's physical being while ignoring other equally important aspects of the patient and the caregiver. Fortunately, healing hospitals have transformed the concept of healing through the principle of "Radical Love." Recognizing the equal importance of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing for all members of the hospital environment, Radical Love enhances the entire wellbeing of the entire community.

We reflecting the author’s own culture, she like many people in the United States are a blend of many different cultures and ethnicity. By not having one single ethnic culture her family views health traditions based on their religion of Christian Scientist. Being raised in this religion molded views of health promotion, prevention and treatment that influence her health behaviors today. There is a difference of opinion between Christian Science and traditional medical views. “Christian Scientist interpret disease from a spiritual view where medicine interprets disease from a material point of view” (Stoddard, 2010). As a child our family was raised with the belief that good nutrition, physical activity, and the role of positive thinking and mind over matter, would provide health and help us remain strong and healthy. Not having over the counter medications or turning to traditional medicine for simple medical issues was chosen as our families way of viewing illness. Growing up with the view of health and illness as spiritual using techniques such as meditation, prayer and positive thinking, has stayed as a health tradition among our families beliefs and practices to this day. Today modern medicine is looking at the mind as a valuable tool to prepare persons and bodys for wellness and rehabilitation. An example of this would be biofeedback. This is a technique where people are

The United States has always been the symbol of freedom of religion and health care today has needed to increase its knowledge in incorporating the many different religions/spiritual beliefs in order to provide a more holistic approach to care. As health care providers we should not look in validating our own practice in regards to religion or spirituality but to comprehend and learn to see the patterns of similarities and differences in order to provide holistic care to our patients. As religious and spiritual beliefs are never permanent and are constantly changing and/or influenced by government, thinkers, historical events, technology and the shifting values of cultures the study of religions/spirituality should be continuous for all health care providers. The Native American, Buddhism, and Sikhism have some similar traits and values imbedded in their practiced religions that resemble the Christian Faith and medical providers needs to be aware and able to accommodate them in order to provide holistic care.

As heath care providers we need to keep mindful of the care we provide to several different religious traditions. It is up to the health care professional to respect and understand the ideals that affect our patients and their family members. In this paper we will compare the philosophies of three diverse faiths. The faiths chosen are Islam, Christian Science and Buddhism, and how they compare to Christianity. We will learn about basic beliefs, spiritual perspectives on healing, and the components of healing such as meditation, prayer and other rituals they follow. Furthermore,

Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are

Spiritual assessment and care of a patient at each medical or psychiatric appointment is an essential aspect of providing adequate care by all NPs. To be able to do so, NP must understand that spirituality and religiosity are not synonymous. Unlike the concept of religion, which defined by the online Oxford dictionary (2017) as “The belief in a worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods,” spirituality holds various definitions depending on whom you ask. According to Taylor (2002; who credits Reed [1992]) “…spirituality refers to that part of being human that seeks meaningfulness through intra-, inter-, and transpersonal connection (p. 10). Therefore, rapport with each

An investigation was conducted about two faith Christianity and Buddhism and compared in different aspect of relating to healthcare. Sources of information are gathered from web sites, books, school resources and personal observations as a practicing Christian. The major themes and insights from the research, reinforcing the worldview questions and critical common component relating to healing such as prayer meditation and beliefs towards healthcare. Findings presented these two faiths having different foundation of worship, Christianity who believes in God as the creator of humans with heaven and earth. Buddhist believe in no Gods, no heaven or earth, and humans with all earthly things being coincidence. The importance of the patient`s faith when cared for by health care providers with different faith revels that Christians hope for healing through God, spiritually and through technology from the powers given to humans by God. Buddhist believed in self and no soul, having a healthy life is determined by lifestyle of the individual and relationship to each other in peace at all times. Christians hope for eternal life and resurrection and the Buddhist believe in Karma and rebirth, living a pure life earns a rebirth of a good recantation and a bad life leads to a rebirth of a wild and mean animal.

cure. Hospitals not only have to meet the demands of curing illnesses, but also have to accommodate the spiritual needs and comfort of patients. Hospitals are generally built and organized in the effort to help patients gain support by having the opportunity to turn towards religion during difficult times. Hospitals in general have various religious leaders on call if a patient were to request them. They also have places of worship available to serve as a sanctuary for patients. These places are equipped with sacred texts from different religions such as the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita and the Holy Bible. As described in the article, “Sacred spaces in public places: religious and spiritual plurality in health care”, “These spaces evoked a feeling of sacredness of space and time – a sense of transcendence, immanence or connectedness in the everyday” (Reimer-Kirkham 203). This tranquil feeling can help to relieve the stress of the body, being proved to help the bodies process of healing, or in the case of terminally ill patients, helps them to develop a more positive outlook on what is happening. They are able to turn towards religion as support for the difficult time.

A 10-year study from the Journal of Family Practice, “found that 83% of the studies done on spirituality found a positive effect on physical health, 92% showed mental health benefits, 4% showed neither a positive nor negative effect and 4% showed harm” ("Spirituality and prayer," 2012), and in these studies spirituality was measured by participation in a religious ceremony, social support, prayer and belief in a higher power. Research among women diagnosed with breast cancer show that “prayer was associated with improved psychological well-being” ("Spirituality and prayer," 2012) and that high religiosity was linked to much lower levels of depression.

This study also provided insight from the DCE/ACCE on how spirituality training should be incorporated in education, and the authors provided their own suggestions as well. It is suggested that this area should be incorporated into the core curriculum and inserted in courses such as professionalism, ethics or wellness and then reinforced during the clinical education (Lavinder, Patel, Campo & Lichtman, 2012). It is also suggested to be offered as a seminar (Lavinder, Patel, Campo & Lichtman,

The spiritual aspect of the individual is essential because it is the foundation, on which people make decisions that influence not only the way they live, but the way they perceive their health. All aspects of a person's spiritual perspective are critical and in order to holistically, take care for our patients, it is indispensable to incorporate it, as part of our plan of care. This approach will definitely help to improve outcome and enable patients to live a better-quality life.

There is a little evidence of whether religion affects overall patient satisfaction. A study concludes that patients report higher level of satisfaction when they have discussions about their religious and spiritual concerns during their in-patient stay (J. A. Williams, Meltzer, Arora, Chung, & Curlin, 2011). There is an unavoidable need for patients to engage physicians and health professionals in discussions about their religious or spiritual issues. However, health professionals do not pay enough attention to patients’ religious or spiritual concerns (J. A. Williams et al., 2011). Geographic characteristics.

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

Having religion in one’s life and a strong sense of spirituality is beneficial to an individual’s health, mental or physical.