Creating a spiritual tapestry: nurses' experiences of delivering spiritual care to patients in an Irish hospice.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Bailey, Maria E

2009-01-01

This study aims to describe nurses\\' experiences of delivering spiritual support in a palliative care setting in the Republic of Ireland. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 22 nurses working in the area of specialist palliative care. A content analysis of the transcriptions revealed five sub-themes: understanding spirituality; the art of nursing in spiritual care; education and learning; the challenge of spiritual caring; and the dimensions of time. The resulting creation of a spiritual tapestry provided an overall theme. Nurses in this study were spiritually self-aware and placed a high value on the spiritual element of their caring role. Nurses described their individual understanding of spirituality and discussed how they recognized and addressed a patient\\'s spiritual needs. Time was described as essential to the provision of spiritual support and appeared to be a significant resource challenge to the provision of spiritual care. The challenges of assessing spiritual needs and measuring outcomes of care were also reported. Participants in this study described the creation of a spiritual tapestry that \\'weaves\\' together care and compassion with skills and knowledge in their nursing practice.

Spiritual care perspectives of Danish Registered Nurses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Kirsten Haugaard; Turner, de Sales

2008-01-01

Spiritual care perspectives of Danish Nurses The purpose of this study was to explore how Danish registered nurses understand the phenomenon of spiritual care and how their understanding impacts on their interventions with their patients. Nurses are responsible for the provision of care which...... approach rooted in the philosophy of Gadamer was chosen as methodology. In-depth interviews were used as data collection tool, and six registered nurses who worked within hospital settings in Denmark were interviewed. The findings revealed that deep knowing of the patients were essential before nurses...... would engage in provision of spiritual care. The participants acknowledged that their understanding of spirituality influenced their provision of spiritual care, which was recognized as a challenge requiring the nurse’s initiative and courage. Spirituality was primarily understood as a patient’s private...

Attitudes Toward Spirituality and Spiritual Care among Iranian Nurses and Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Babamohamadi, Hassan; Ahmadpanah, Mahsa-Sadat; Ghorbani, Raheb

2017-08-22

Addressing spiritual needs is taken into account as an integral part of holistic health care and also an important component of nursing practice. The aim of present study is to evaluate attitudes toward spirituality and spiritual care among nurses and nursing students at Semnan University of Medical Sciences in Iran. In this cross-sectional study, all nurses (n = 180) working in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Semnan University of Medical Sciences as well as senior nursing students (n = 50) selected by the census method. Finally, 168 individuals meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated as the study sample. The data collection instrument was the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. The mean and standard deviation scores of attitudes toward spirituality and spiritual care among nurses and nursing students were 59 ± 10.9, and the scores obtained by the majority of study population (64.3%) ranged between 32 and 62 which were at a moderate and relatively desirable level. Nurses and nursing students working in aforementioned hospitals reported positive attitudes to spirituality and spiritual care. Given the importance of spiritual care and also the moderate level of spirituality and spiritual care among nurses and nursing students in this study, institutionalization of the concept of spirituality, provision of an appropriate context to deliver such care, and also implementation of interventions in order to improve spiritual care along with other nursing skills were assumed of utmost importance.

Spirituality and spiritual care in in the context of nursing education in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandhya Chandramohan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In order for nursing education to prepare nurses for holistic patient care, it is critical that educators become more aware of the religious and spiritual dimensions in patien tcare and be able to provide adequate knowledge and skills for nurses to offer spiritually-basedc are in an ethical way. Furthermore, spiritual care is an essential component in the nursing context, as nurses have to care for patients who may often turn to the spiritual dimension to cope and heal. These aspects are important issues to be considered in planning what should be taught as part of spiritual care. Objectives: This paper presents findings from a study on nursing practitioners’ views on the role of spiritual care in nursing practice and whether current nursing education has integrated this dimension into teaching. Method: A descriptive survey using a cross-sectional design with 385 nurses was conducted between December 2012 and February 2013. Participants were recruited through multistage random sampling. Data analysis was undertaken using SSPS 0.20. Results: All the participants (n = 385 concurred that spiritual care was a salient component of holistic patient care. They however stated that the primary barriers to providing spiritual care related to uncertainty on how to provide this type of care, and a lack of educational preparedness for this role. Conclusion: The study found that nurses were very accepting of the need for spiritual care as part of their nursing role but that nursing education had not paid adequate attention to integrating this dimension into the nursing curriculum.

Self-reported frequency of nurse-provided spiritual care.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Elizabeth Johnston; Mamier, Iris; Ricci-Allegra, Patricia; Foith, Joanne

2017-06-01

To describe how frequently RNs provide 17 spiritual care therapeutics (or interventions) during a 72-80h timeframe. Plagued by conceptual muddiness as well as weak methods, research quantifying the frequency of spiritual care is not only methodologically limited, but also sparse. Secondary analysis of data from four studies that used the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS). Data from US American RNs who responded to online surveys about spiritual care were analyzed. The four studies included intensive care unit nurses in Ohio (n=93), hospice and palliative care nurses across the US (n=104), nurses employed in a Christian health care system (n=554), and nurses responding to an invitation to participate found on a journal website (n=279). The NSCTS mean of 38 (with a range from 17 to 79 [of 85 possible]) suggested respondents include spiritual care therapeutics infrequently in their nursing care. Particularly concerning is the finding that 17-33% (depending on NSCTS item) never completed a spiritual screening during the timeframe. "Remaining present just to show caring" was the most frequent therapeutic (3.4 on a 5-point scale); those who practiced presence at least 12 times during the timeframe provided other spiritual care therapeutics more frequently than those who offered presence less frequently. Findings affirm previous research that suggests nurses provide spiritual care infrequently. These findings likely provide the strongest evidence yet for the need to improve spiritual care education and support for nurses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Teaching spiritual care to nursing students:an integrated model.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Elizabeth Johnston; Testerman, Nancy; Hart, Dynnette

2014-01-01

Graduating nurses are required to know how to support patient spiritual well-being, yet there is scant literature about how spiritual care is taught in undergraduate programs. Typically spiritual content only is sporadically included; the authors recommend intergrating spiritual can thoughout the nursing curriculum. This article describes how one Christian nursing school integrates spiritual care content, supports student spiritual well-being throughout the program, and evaluates spiritual care instruction at graduation.

Nurse education and willingness to provide spiritual care.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Li-Fen; Tseng, Hui-Chen; Liao, Yu-Chen

2016-03-01

Spiritual care is a critical part of holistic care, and nurses require adequate preparation to address the spiritual needs of patients. However, nurses' willingness to provide such care has rarely been reported. Hence, nurses' education, and knowledge of spiritual care, as well as their willingness to provide it require further study. A convenience sample of 200 nurses participated in the study. Quantitative data were collected using a 21-item Spiritual Care Needs Inventory (content validity index=.87; Cronbach's alpha=.96). The majority of participants were female (96.5%, n=193) between 21 and 59years old (mean=35.1years). Moreover, the majority of participants had a Bachelor's degree (74.0%, n=148) and 1-36years of clinical experience (mean=12.13years). Regarding religious beliefs, 63 (31.5%) had no religious belief, and 93 (46.5%) did not engage in any religious activity. Overall, the nurses were willing to provide spiritual care, although only 25 (12.5%) felt that they had received adequate education. The findings of this study indicate the need for further educational preparation in spiritual care for nurses. Specifically, additional teaching materials are required that are more directly related to spiritual care. Greater emphasis should be placed on different subject areas in school-based education, continuing education, and self-learning education according to the needs of nurses. Since spiritual care education needs policy support, in-depth discussions should take place regarding the approach and cultural environment for providing spiritual care in future nursing courses. Moreover, further studies should investigate barriers in providing spiritual nursing care to patients and whether they are the results of a lack of relevant knowledge or other factors. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Iranian nurses' professional competence in spiritual care in 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Adib-Hajbaghery, Mohsen; Zehtabchi, Samira; Fini, Ismail Azizi

2017-06-01

The holistic approach views the human as a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual being. Evidence suggests that among these dimensions, the spiritual one is largely ignored in healthcare settings. This study aimed to evaluate Iranian nurses' perceived professional competence in spiritual care, the relationship between perceived competence and nurses' personal characteristics, and barriers to provide spiritual care. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the year 2014. Participants and research context: The study population consisted of nurses working in teaching hospitals in Kashan city. Using a stratified, systematic random method, 250 samples were selected from a total of 1400 nurses. An indigenous instrument was used to assess the nurses' competencies in spiritual care. Ethical considerations: A research ethics committee approved the study. All the participants were briefed on the study aims, were assured of the confidentiality of their personal information, and signed a written informed consent. Among a total of 250 nurses, 239 answered the questionnaire completely, and in total, 23%, 51%, and 26% had poor, moderate, and favorable competence in spiritual care, respectively. No significant differences were found between the mean competence scores of spiritual care in terms of gender, marital status, employment status, and level of qualification. Significant difference was found between nurses' overall score of competence in spiritual care and receiving training on spiritual care, nurses' position, and the ward they worked in. Confirming the findings of the international literature, this study puts light on the situation of nurses' perceived competence and barriers to providing spiritual care in Iran as an eastern and Islamic context. Three-quarters of the nurses had moderate or unfavorable competence in spiritual care. Due to the crucial role of spiritual care in quality of care and patient satisfaction, nurses should be trained and supported to provide spiritual care.

Developments in spiritual care education in German--speaking countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Paal, Piret; Roser, Traugott; Frick, Eckhard

2014-06-05

This article examines spiritual care training provided to healthcare professionals in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The paper reveals the current extent of available training while defining the target group(s) and teaching aims. In addition to those, we will provide an analysis of delivered competencies, applied teaching and performance assessment methods. In 2013, an anonymous online survey was conducted among the members of the International Society for Health and Spiritual Care. The survey consisted of 10 questions and an open field for best practice advice. SPSS21 was used for statistical data analysis and the MAXQDA2007 for thematic content analysis. 33 participants participated in the survey. The main providers of spiritual care training are hospitals (36%, n = 18). 57% (n = 17) of spiritual care training forms part of palliative care education. 43% (n = 13) of spiritual care education is primarily bound to the Christian tradition. 36% (n = 11) of provided trainings have no direct association with any religious conviction. 64% (n = 19) of respondents admitted that they do not use any specific definition for spiritual care. 22% (n = 14) of available spiritual care education leads to some academic degree. 30% (n = 19) of training form part of an education programme leading to a formal qualification. Content analysis revealed that spiritual training for medical students, physicians in paediatrics, and chaplains take place only in the context of palliative care education. Courses provided for multidisciplinary team education may be part of palliative care training. Other themes, such as deep listening, compassionate presence, bedside spirituality or biographical work on the basis of logo-therapy, are discussed within the framework of spiritual care. Spiritual care is often approached as an integral part of grief management, communication/interaction training, palliative care, (medical) ethics, psychological or religious counselling

The use of dreams in spiritual care.

Science.gov (United States)

Stranahan, Susan

2011-01-01

This paper explores the use of dreams in the context of pastoral care. Although many people dream and consider their dreams to hold some significant spiritual meaning, spiritual care providers have been reluctant to incorporate patients' dreams into the therapeutic conversation. Not every dream can be considered insightful, but probing the meaning of some dreams can enhance spiritual care practice. Hill's Cognitive-Experimental Dream Interpretation Model is applied in the current article as a useful framework for exploring dreams, gaining insight about spiritual problems, and developing a therapeutic plan of action. Bulkeley's criteria for dream interpretation were used to furnish safeguards against inappropriate application of dream interpretation to spiritual assessment and interventions.

Spiritual beliefs and barriers among managed care practitioners.

Science.gov (United States)

McCauley, Jeanne; Jenckes, Mollie W; Tarpley, Margaret J; Koenig, Harold G; Yanek, Lisa R; Becker, Diane M

2005-01-01

Ninety percent of American adults believe in God and 82% pray weekly. A majority wants their physicians to address spirituality during their health care visit. However, clinicians incorporate spiritual discussion in less than 20% of visits. Our objectives were to measure clinician beliefs and identify perceived barriers to integrating spirituality into patient care in a statewide, primary care, managed care group. Practitioners completed a 30-item survey including demographics and religious involvement (DUREL), spirituality in patient care (SPC), and barriers (BAR). We analyzed data using frequencies, means, standard deviations, and ANOVA. Clinicians had a range of religious denominations (67% Christian, 14% Jewish, 11% Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist, 8% agnostic), were 57% female and 24% had training in spirituality. Sixty-six percent reported experiencing the divine. Ninety-five percent felt that a patient's spiritual outlook was important to handling health difficulties and 68% percent agreed that addressing spirituality was part of the physician's role. Ninety-five percent of our managed care group noted 'lack of time' as an important barrier, 'lack of training' was indicated by 69%, and 21% cited 'fear of response from administration'. Managed care practitioners in a time constrained setting were spiritual themselves and believed this to be important to patients. Respondents indicated barriers of time and training to implementing these beliefs. Comparing responses from our group to those in other published surveys on clinician spirituality, we find similar concerns. Clinician education may overcome these barriers and improve ability to more fully meet their patients' expressed needs regarding spirituality and beliefs.

Spirituality in childhood cancer care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lima NN

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Nádia Nara Rolim Lima,1 Vânia Barbosa do Nascimento,1 Sionara Melo Figueiredo de Carvalho,1 Modesto Leite Rolim Neto,2 Marcial Moreno Moreira,2 Aline Quental Brasil,2 Francisco Telésforo Celestino Junior,2 Gislene Farias de Oliveira,2 Alberto Olavo Advíncula Reis3 1Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, ABC Region Medical School, Santo André, São Paulo, Brazil; 2Department of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Barbalha, Ceará, Brazil; 3Public Health Postgraduate Program, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Abstract: To deal with the suffering caused by childhood cancer, patients and their families use different coping strategies, among which, spirituality appears a way of minimizing possible damage. In this context, the purpose of the present study was to analyze the influence of spirituality in childhood cancer care, involving biopsychosocial aspects of the child, the family, and the health care team facing the disease. To accomplish this purpose, a nonsystematic review of literature of articles on national and international electronic databases (Scientific Electronic Library Online [SciELO], PubMed, and Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature [LILACS] was conducted using the search terms “spirituality,” “child psychology,” “child,” and “cancer,” as well as on other available resources. After the search, 20 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final sample. Our review showed that the relation between spirituality and health has lately become a subject of growing interest among researchers, as a positive influence of spirituality in the people's welfare was noted. Studies that were retrieved using the mentioned search strategy in electronic databases, independently assessed by the authors according to the systematic review, showed that spirituality emerges as a driving force that helps pediatric patients and their families in coping with cancer. Health care workers

Spiritual Nursing Care Education An Integrated Strategy for Teaching Students.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Donna M; Hand, Mikel

The failure of nursing schools to integrate spiritual nursing care education into the curriculum has contributed to a lack in nurses' spiritual care ability. Developing, integrating, and testing a Spiritual Care Nursing Education strategy in an Associates of Science nursing program significantly increased the perceived spiritual care competence of student nurses. Utilizing a faculty team to develop learning activities to address critical spiritual care attributes offers a method to integrate spiritual nursing care content throughout the curriculum in ASN and BSN programs.

Spiritual nursing care: A concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Monareng, Lydia V

2012-10-08

Although the concept 'spiritual nursing care' has its roots in the history of the nursing profession, many nurses in practice have difficulty integrating the concept into practice. There is an ongoing debate in the empirical literature about its definition, clarity and application in nursing practice. The study aimed to develop an operational definition of the concept and its application in clinical practice. A qualitative study was conducted to explore and describe how professional nurses render spiritual nursing care. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit the sample. Individual and focus group interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Trustworthiness was ensured through strategies of truth value, applicability, consistency and neutrality. Data were analysed using the NUD*IST power version 4 software, constant comparison, open, axial and selective coding. Tech's eight steps of analysis were also used, which led to the emergence of themes, categories and sub-categories. Concept analysis was conducted through a comprehensive literature review and as a result 'caring presence' was identified as the core variable from which all the other characteristics of spiritual nursing care arise. An operational definition of spiritual nursing care based on the findings was that humane care is demonstrated by showing caring presence, respect and concern for meeting the needs not only of the body and mind of patients, but also their spiritual needs of hope and meaning in the midst of health crisis, which demand equal attention for optimal care from both religious and nonreligious nurses.

Towards a fully-fledged integration of spiritual care and medical care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruizinga, R.; Scherer-Rath, M.; Schilderman, J. B. A. M.; Puchalski, C. M.; van Laarhoven, H. W. M.

2017-01-01

In this article we aim to set out current problems that hinder a fully-fledged integration of spiritual and medical care that address these obstacles. We discuss the following five statements: 1. Spiritual care requires a clear and inclusive definition of spirituality; 2. Empirical evidence for

Towards a fully-fledged integration of spiritual care and medical care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruizinga, R.; Scherer-Rath, M.; Schilderman, J.B.A.M.; Puchalski, C.; Laarhoven, H.W.M. van

2018-01-01

In this article, we aimed to set out current problems that hinder a fully fledged integration of spiritual and medical care, which address these obstacles. We discuss the following five statements: 1) spiritual care requires a clear and inclusive definition of spirituality; 2) empirical evidence for

Spirituality in cancer care at the end of life.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrell, Betty; Otis-Green, Shirley; Economou, Denice

2013-01-01

There is a compelling need to integrate spirituality into the provision of quality palliative care by oncology professionals. Patients and families report the importance of spiritual, existential, and religious concerns throughout the cancer trajectory. Leading palliative care organizations have developed guidelines that define spiritual care and offer recommendations to guide the delivery of spiritual services. There is growing recognition that all team members require the skills to provide generalist spiritual support. Attention to person-centered, family-focused oncology care requires the development of a health care environment that is prepared to support the religious, spiritual, and cultural practices preferred by patients and their families. These existential concerns become especially critical at end of life and following the death for family survivors. Oncology professionals require education to prepare them to appropriately screen, assess, refer, and/or intervene for spiritual distress.

"To cherish each day as it comes": a qualitative study of spirituality among persons receiving palliative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Asgeirsdottir, Gudlaug Helga; Sigurbjörnsson, Einar; Traustadottir, Rannveig; Sigurdardottir, Valgerdur; Gunnarsdottir, Sigridur; Kelly, Ewan

2013-05-01

Spirituality is one of the main aspects of palliative care. The concept is multidimensional and encompasses the existential realm as well as value-based and religious considerations. The aim of this study was to explore spirituality from the perspective of persons receiving palliative care and examine their experience of spirituality and its influence on their lives and well-being. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten persons receiving palliative care from Palliative Care Services in Iceland. The interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed. The study is in the field of practical theology and used the theoretical approach of hermeneutical phenomenology. Thematic analysis found that the spiritual dimension was of significance for the participants who understood it as a vital element connected to seeking meaning, purpose and transcendence in life. Religious and non-religious aspects of spirituality were expressed including strong spiritual components of family relationships, the meaning of God/a higher being and spiritual practices which served as a key factor in giving strength, activating inner resources and motivating hope. Nine of the participants expressed their spirituality as faith. Spirituality was experienced broadly as an important dimension of how participants lived with terminal illness. Religious and non-religious characteristics were recognised which reveals the complex nature of the phenomenon. Faith was a significant part of the participants' spirituality indicating the importance of attending to this aspect of palliative care. The study suggests the potential contributions of theological approaches which are relevant for palliative care research and practice.

New Zealand Nurses’ Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual care: Qualitative Findings from a National Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Egan

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the qualitative findings from the first national survey of New Zealand nurses’ views on spirituality and spiritual care. The importance of spirituality as a core aspect of holistic nursing care is gaining momentum. Little is currently known about New Zealand nurses’ understandings, perceptions and experience of spirituality. Design: A descriptive online survey. Method: A random sample of 2000 individuals resident in New Zealand whose occupation on the New Zealand electoral roll suggested nursing was their current or past occupation were invited via postcard to participate in an online survey. This paper reports on the free response section of the survey. Findings: Overall, 472 invitees responded (24.1%. From the respondents, 63% completed at least one of the optional free response sections. Thematic analysis generated three metathemes: ‘The role of spirituality in nursing practice’, ‘Enabling best practice’, and ‘Creating a supportive culture’. Conclusions: Spirituality was predominantly valued as a core aspect of holistic nursing care. However, clarity is needed surrounding what constitutes spiritual care and how this intersects with professional responsibilities and boundaries. Participants’ insights suggest a focus on improving the consistency and quality of spiritual care by fostering inter-professional collaboration, and improved provision of resources and educational opportunities.

Cultural and spiritual considerations in palliative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Carol O

2011-10-01

Culture is a fundamental part of one's being. Spirituality is integrated with culture and both play a significant role in a person's journey through life. Yet, culture and spirituality are often misunderstood and may not seem to be important in healthcare settings. For adults with cancer and their families, this cannot be ignored. This paper reviews The Purnell Model of Cultural Competence as a framework for considering culture and spirituality in healthcare and discusses the importance of acknowledging and incorporating practices that support culture and spirituality in healthcare settings. Examples of how to include cultural and spiritual care in palliative and end-of-life care in healthcare settings are provided.

Spirituality in adolescent patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Meaghann S; Wratchford, Dale

2017-07-01

Adolescence, the transition between childhood and adulthood, represents a time of rapid biological, neurocognitive, and psychosocial changes. These changes have important implications for the development and evolution of adolescent spirituality, particularly for adolescents with chronic or life-limiting illnesses. To contribute positively to adolescent spiritual formation, palliative care teams benefit from understanding the normative changes expected to occur during adolescence. This paper provides a narrative review of adolescent spirituality while recognizing the role of religious, familial, and cultural influences on spiritual development during the teenage years. By giving explicit attention to the contextual norms surrounding adolescence and still recognizing each adolescent-aged patient as unique, palliative care teams can help adolescents transition toward meaningful and sustainable spiritual growth. This paper reviews the clinical and research implications relevant to integrating adolescent spiritual health as part of comprehensive palliative care.

An exploration of the extent of inclusion of spirituality and spiritual care concepts in core nursing textbooks.

Science.gov (United States)

Timmins, Fiona; Murphy, Maryanne; Neill, Freda; Begley, Thelma; Sheaf, Greg

2015-01-01

Holistic care that encompasses a spiritual dimension is an expectation in modern healthcare (Rothman, 2009). Increasing attention is being paid to the role of nurses in providing spiritual care to patients. However nurses lack specific skills and expertise in this area (Lundmark, 2006; Timmins, 2010; RCN, 2011), and the extent to which their undergraduate education prepares them for this role is unclear. There is often an absence of clear direction about what to teach undergraduate nursing students. The extent to which core textbooks direct student studies in this area is not known. There is some evidence that some of these fundamental core textbooks provide insufficient direction (Pesut, 2008), thus gaps in knowledge and care provision in this field could be exacerbated. The aim of this study is to examine the extent to which spiritual care concepts are addressed in core nursing textbooks. Five hundred and forty three books were sampled from the Nursing and Midwifery Core Collection list (UK) (Tomlinsons, 2010) representing 94% of the total (n=580). A survey, the Spirituality Textbook Analysis Tool (STAT), was developed and used to collect data. One hundred and thirty of the books included content related to spirituality and religion. However there was little consistency in the core nursing textbooks with regard to direction for providing spiritual care. Thirty eight percent of the books defined spiritual care and 36% provided an outline of the role of the nurse in providing this. While some books advocated the assessment of patients' spiritual needs (32%) few referred specifically to assessment tools. It is essential that nurses are adequately prepared to address the spiritual needs of patients. While there are numerous spiritual care texts that deal solely with this issue for nurses, there is an argument emerging that core nursing texts used by nursing students ought to encompass spiritual care elements. Lack of specific focus on this field, by these key

Spiritual nursing care: A concept analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lydia V. Monareng

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Although the concept ‘spiritual nursing care’ has its roots in the history of the nursing profession, many nurses in practice have difficulty integrating the concept into practice. There is an ongoing debate in the empirical literature about its definition, clarity and application in nursing practice. The study aimed to develop an operational definition of the concept and its application in clinical practice. A qualitative study was conducted to explore and describe how professional nurses render spiritual nursing care. A purposive sampling method was used to recruit the sample. Individual and focus group interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Trustworthiness was ensured through strategies of truth value, applicability, consistency and neutrality. Data were analysed using the NUD*IST power version 4 software, constant comparison, open, axial and selective coding. Tech’s eight steps of analysis were also used, which led to the emergence of themes, categories and sub-categories. Concept analysis was conducted through a comprehensive literature review and as a result ‘caring presence’ was identified as the core variable from which all the other characteristics of spiritual nursing care arise. An operational definition of spiritual nursing care based on the findings was that humane care is demonstrated by showing caring presence, respect and concern for meeting the needs not only of the body and mind of patients, but also their spiritual needs of hope and meaning in the midst of health crisis, which demand equal attention for optimal care from both religious and nonreligious nurses.

The spiritual care meanings of adults residing in the midwest.

Science.gov (United States)

Sellers, S C

2001-07-01

Only limited nursing knowledge exists as theoretical guidance for nurses in providing spiritual care. Using Leininger's theory of culture care diversity and universality, the purpose of this ethnonursing research study was to discover the embedded spiritual care meanings, expressions, lived experiences, and practices of adults residing in the Midwest and their perceptions of spiritual nursing care. Data were collected through interviews of 6 key and 12 general informants. Five universal spiritual themes were supported by the findings. Culture care modes were used to explicate spiritual knowledge that can be integrated into nursing practice.

OA35 Shared humanity, shared mortality - spiritual care in care homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Mark

2015-04-01

Currently a fifth of the population die in care homes and most residents are in the final year of life. Spiritual care is recognised as important (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE] Quality Standards, Leadership Alliance) yet there is little teaching for care homes' staff in this vital area. Spiritual care is intrinsic in the Gold Standards Framework (GSF) programmes, it is one of the standards for GSF accreditation, yet often health and social care professionals are unaware or unconfident in this area, with a tendency to confuse spirituality with religion. To develop a Spiritual Care course to supplement the range of GSF programmes, especially for care homes, to increase confidence and ability of staff caring for people nearing the end of life. While we need to bring professional expertise to bear in our caring, we must also bring our humanity, our lack of answers and our ability to listen with mindfulness and compassion. Working in collaboration with Staffordshire University, blending academic and practical expertise, we developed a one day workshop and filmed a four-module distance-learning course. Evaluations have shown a broadening of awareness and perspective, increased confidence in assessing and meeting spiritual needs, greater self-care and resilience amongst staff and a more creative interpretation of spiritual care helping to meet the needs of care homes' residents. Early use of this spiritual care workshop and course for care homes' staff has been well received and encouraging. Sharing our common human experience of loss and mortality leads to greater resilience through inner transformation. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Relationship between Nurses' Spiritual Well-being and Nurses' perception of competence in providing spiritual care for patients

OpenAIRE

Ebrahimi, Hossein; Jafarabadi, Mohammad Asghari; Arshetnab, Hossein Namdar; Khanmiri, Soraya Golipoor

2015-01-01

Objective: As an important factor affecting human's health consequences, spiritual well-being has been the center of attention in recent years. According to literature, nurses' spiritual well-being affects how they provide spiritual care. This paper, thus, aims to find the relationship between nurses' spiritual well-being and their perception of their competence in providing spiritual care for patients in Tabriz Educational-Therapeutic centersMaterial and Methods: This is cross...

Utilization of Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Nursing Practice in Public Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandhya Chandramohan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available This study explored the views of professional nurses in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa regarding the role of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing practice and investigated whether professional nurses utilize spiritually based care in nursing practice. A cross-sectional descriptive design using multistage random sampling was utilized. Five hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed to professional nurses between December 2012 and February 2013. A total of 385 participants completed the survey questionnaire, resulting in a 77% response rate. Data was analyzed using SSPS 0.20. The data revealed that nurses see spirituality and spiritual care as an important dimension of nursing practice but need greater preparedness. Nurses need to be effectively prepared to deal with the complexity of providing ethically based personalized spiritual care in an increasingly diverse society.

Spiritual Needs of Patients with Chronic Diseases

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Harold G. Koenig

2010-11-01

Full Text Available For many patients confronted with chronic diseases, spirituality/religiosity is an important resource for coping. Patients often report unmet spiritual and existential needs, and spiritual support is also associated with better quality of life. Caring for spiritual, existential and psychosocial needs is not only relevant to patients at the end of their life but also to those suffering from long-term chronic illnesses. Spiritual needs may not always be associated with life satisfaction, but sometimes with anxiety, and can be interpreted as the patients’ longing for spiritual well-being. The needs for peace, health and social support are universal human needs and are of special importance to patients with long lasting courses of disease. The factor, Actively Giving, may be of particular importance because it can be interpreted as patients’ intention to leave the role of a `passive sufferer´ to become an active, self-actualizing, giving individual. One can identify four core dimensions of spiritual needs, i.e., Connection, Peace, Meaning/Purpose, and Transcendence, which can be attributed to underlying psychosocial, emotional, existential, and religious needs. The proposed model can provide a conceptual framework for further research and clinical practice. In fact, health care that addresses patients’ physical, emotional, social, existential and spiritual needs (referring to a bio-psychosocial-spiritual model of health care will contribute to patients’ improvement and recovery. Nevertheless, there are several barriers in the health care system that makes it difficult to adequately address these needs.

[Development of Spiritual Care in Cancer Treatment in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Shimazono, Susumu

2017-01-01

Spiritual care started worldwide in the late 1960s with the development of the hospice movement and death studies. Why did spiritual care start duringthis time in history ? In some Christian societies, of that time,"pastoral care" evolved into an interfaith "spiritual care" where in the caretaker was the main agent instead of the caregiver. On the other hand, the importance of palliative care for cancer patients was gradually acknowledged. In addition, this progress was accompanied by the academic development of "death studies" which is called "death and life studies" in Japan. The Japanese hospice care and death studies movement started in the late 1970s. In the precedingperiod, the spiritual quest of cancer patients facingdeath was already gaining public attention. A scholar of religious studies, Hideo Kishimoto of the University of Tokyo, was diagnosed with cancer in 1954; he survived many operations until his death in 1964. Duringthose years, he wrote about his personal experience of acceptinghis approachingdeath. Although he did not believe in any specific faith, he had studied various religious teachings. It is important to understand his perception of his own death. His book, On Facing Death, was published immediately after his death. Therefore, it provided a prominent discourse on copingwith spiritual pain of approachingdeath even before the growth of spiritual care in Japan.

Spirituality in end-of-life care: attending the person on their journey.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Hayden, Deborah

2011-11-01

Spirituality is a fundamental element to the human experience of health and healing, illness and dying. Spiritual care is an essential component of palliative and end-of-life care provision and is the responsibility of all staff and carers involved in the care of patients and families. As end-of-life care is a significant element of community nursing, this article explores the relevancy of spirituality to end-of-life practice, the challenge of defining spirituality and the attributes and skills required for the practice of spiritual care. The aim of is to encourage self reflection and open dialogue about the subject, thus enhancing community nurses\\' understanding of spiritual care practice. By reflecting and generating talk about the practice of spiritual care, it may become more normalized, recognized, and practically meaningful, thereby retaining its significance in holistic nursing.

Undergraduate nurse students' perspectives of spiritual care education in an Australian context.

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Cooper, Katherine Louise; Chang, Esther

2016-09-01

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council competency standards highlight the need to provide holistic care that is inclusive of spiritual care. Literature shows that internationally many nurses feel unsure of how to provide spiritual care which has been attributed to a lack of spiritual care education during undergraduate nursing programs. This study explores the impact of a spiritual care subject in an undergraduate nursing program in an Australian tertiary institution. Qualitative research design using in-depth semi-structured interviews. A tertiary institution with a Christian orientation in Sydney, Australia. Six undergraduate nursing students who had completed the spiritual care subject. Two themes emerged from the data: Seeing the person as a whole and Being with the person. The spiritual care subject had a positive impact on the perceptions of undergraduate nursing students. In particular students perceived themselves more prepared to provide holistic care that was inclusive of spiritual care. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spiritual care in the training of hospice volunteers in Germany.

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Gratz, Margit; Paal, Piret; Emmelmann, Moritz; Roser, Traugott

2016-10-01

Hospice volunteers often encounter questions related to spirituality. It is unknown whether spiritual care receives a corresponding level of attention in their training. Our survey investigated the current practice of spiritual care training in Germany. An online survey sent to 1,332 hospice homecare services for adults in Germany was conducted during the summer of 2012. We employed the SPSS 21 software package for statistical evaluation. All training programs included self-reflection on personal spirituality as obligatory. The definitions of spirituality used in programs differ considerably. The task of defining training objectives is randomly delegated to a supervisor, a trainer, or to the governing organization. More than half the institutions work in conjunction with an external trainer. These external trainers frequently have professional backgrounds in pastoral care/theology and/or in hospice/palliative care. While spiritual care receives great attention, the specific tasks it entails are rarely discussed. The response rate for our study was 25.0% (n = 332). A need exists to develop training concepts that outline distinct contents, methods, and objectives. A prospective curriculum would have to provide assistance in the development of training programs. Moreover, it would need to be adaptable to the various concepts of spiritual care employed by the respective institutions and their hospice volunteers.

Competence and frequency of provision of spiritual care by nurses in the Netherlands.

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Vogel, Annemieke; Schep-Akkerman, Annemiek E

2018-04-25

Spiritual care to patients is important for their well-being, and nurses do have a crucial role in it. Previous research focused on self-assessed competence in providing spiritual care, but little is known about the actual provision. The aims of this study were as follows: (i) to evaluate how often nurses provide spiritual care, (ii) if or which association there is between self-assessed competency and provision of spiritual care, and (iii) to study which factors do have influence on delivering spiritual care. A quantitative study was designed. Nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire. Self-assessment of spiritual care competence and actions was evaluated with the Spiritual Care Competence Scale New: a 27 items questionnaire on competence (SCCS-can) and frequency (SCCS-do) of providing spiritual care, measured with a five-point Likert scale. Mean competence score and frequency of provision were calculated, next to the correlation between those two. Several factors (mean SCCS-can, gender, age, education level, experience, life view, personal spirituality (measured on a 1-10 scale)) were included in regression analysis to study factors of influence on actual provision of spiritual care (measured with SCCS-do). A total of 104 completed questionnaires have been analysed. Mean score on the SCCS-can was 3.9, and on the SCCS-do 3.2. This means that nurses state they are highly competent in delivering spiritual care and provide this monthly. The Pearson correlation between SCCS-can and SCCS-do was 0.50, which means the higher the score on SCCS-can, the higher the score on SCCS-do. Regression analysis shows that the self-assessed competence of spiritual care (SCCS-can) and the personal spirituality are significant predictors of the outcome SCCS-do. The better the nurses think they can provide spiritual care, the more they say they practise it. Regression analysis supports this: the factors of influence on provision of spiritual care are self-assessed competence and

How core nursing textbooks inform holistic spiritual care.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-08-01

National and international health and nursing guidelines recommend that staff attend to patients' spiritual and religious needs, which suggests that spiritual care is an important aspect of holistic care. However, many nurses lack knowledge of the subject, and it is unclear whether core textbooks provide the information they need.

Integrating Spiritual Care into a Baccalaureate Nursing Program in Mainland China.

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Yuan, Hua; Porr, Caroline

2014-09-01

Holistic nursing care takes into account individual, family, community and population well-being. At the level of individual well-being, the nurse considers biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. However, in Mainland China spiritual factors are not well understood by nursing students. And accordingly, nursing faculty and students are reluctant to broach the topic of spirituality because it is either unknown to students or students believe that the provision of spiritual care is beyond their capabilities. We wonder then, what can we do as nurse educators to integrate spiritual care into a baccalaureate nursing program in Mainland China? The purpose of this article is to propose the integration of Chinese sociocultural traditions (namely religious/spiritual practices) into undergraduate nursing curricula as a means to enter into dialogue about spiritual well-being, to promote spiritual care; and to fulfill the requirements of holistic nursing care. However, prior to discussing recommendations, an overview of the cultural context is in order. Thus, this article is constructed as follows: first, the complexity of Chinese society is briefly described; second, the historical evolution of nursing education in Mainland China is presented; and, third, strategies to integrate Chinese religious/spiritual practices into curricula are proposed. © The Author(s) 2014.

Experiences of patients with cancer and their nurses on the conditions of spiritual care and spiritual interventions in oncology units.

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Rassouli, Maryam; Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Ghahramanian, Akram; Abbaszadeh, Abbas; Alavi-Majd, Hamid; Nikanfar, Alireza

2015-01-01

Although nurses acknowledge that spiritual care is part of their role, in reality, it is performed to a lesser extent. The purpose of the present study was to explore nurses' and patients' experiences about the conditions of spiritual care and spiritual interventions in the oncology units of Tabriz. This study was conducted with a qualitative conventional content analysis approach in the oncology units of hospitals in Tabriz. Data were collected through purposive sampling by conducting unstructured interviews with 10 patients and 7 nurses and analyzed simultaneously. Robustness of data analysis was evaluated by the participants and external control. Three categories emerged from the study: (1) "perceived barriers for providing spiritual care" including "lack of preparation for spiritual care," "time and space constraints," "unprofessional view," and "lack of support"; (2) "communication: A way for Strengthening spirituality despite the limitations" including "manifestation of spirituality in the appearances and communicative behaviors of nurses" and "communication: Transmission of spiritual energy"; and (3) "religion-related spiritual experiences" including "life events as divine will and divine exam," "death as reincarnation," "trust in God," "prayer/recourse to Holy Imams," and "acceptance of divine providence." Although nurses had little skills in assessing and responding to the patients' spiritual needs and did not have the organizational and clergymen's support in dealing with the spiritual distress of patients, they were the source of energy, joy, hope, and power for patients by showing empathy and compassion. The patients and nurses were using religious beliefs mentioned in Islam to strengthen the patients' spiritual dimension. According to the results, integration of spiritual care in the curriculum of nursing is recommended. Patients and nurses can benefit from organizational and clergymen's support to cope with spiritual distress. Researchers should

Holistic Nursing of Forensic Patients: A Focus on Spiritual Care

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Annamaria Bagnasco

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Prisons are a unique context where nurses are required to have specific skills to ensure that prisoners receive the same type of holistic care as anyone else out of prison, including spiritual care. This discussion paper focuses on understanding how nurses deliver spiritual care in Italian prisons where there are often limited resources and where organizational priorities hinder the provision of holistic nursing. This paper draws from a previous qualitative research study that we had conducted. In this study, we observed that prison nurses reported that they experienced many difficulties related to the provision of holistic care to prisoners. This was particularly true for spiritual care in vulnerable forensic patients, such as older individuals, and physically and mentally frail prisoners. Prison officers did not allow nurses to just “listen and talk” to their patients in prison, because they considered it a waste of time. The conflict between prison organizational constraints and nursing goals, along with limited resources placed barriers to the development of therapeutic relationships between nurses and prisoners, whose holistic and spiritual care needs remained totally unattended. Therefore, prison organizational needs prevailed over prisoners’ needs for spiritual care, which, while fundamental, are nevertheless often underestimated and left unattended. Educational interventions are needed to reaffirm nurses’ role as providers of spiritual care.

Why the cognitive science of religion cannot rescue 'spiritual care'.

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Paley, John

2015-10-01

Peter Kevern believes that the cognitive science of religion (CSR) provides a justification for the idea of spiritual care in the health services. In this paper, I suggest that he is mistaken on two counts. First, CSR does not entail the conclusions Kevern wants to draw. His treatment of it consists largely of nonsequiturs. I show this by presenting an account of CSR, and then explaining why Kevern's reasons for thinking it rescues 'spirituality' discourse do not work. Second, the debate about spirituality-in-health is about classification: what shall count as a 'spiritual need' and what shall count as 'spiritual care'. It is about the politics of meaning, an exercise in persuasive definition. The function of 'spirituality' talk in health care is to change the denotation of 'spiritual', and attach its indelibly religious connotations to as many health-related concepts and practices as possible. CSR, however plausible it may be as a theory of the origins and pervasiveness of religious belief, is irrelevant to this debate. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pengaruh Metode Drill dalam Supervisi Klinis terhadap Spiritual Care Perawat

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Nunung Rachmawati

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The holistic nursing service is based on the concept that humans are sick not only physically that cured by drug delivery, but also pay attention to other aspects of mental where the patient needs motivation and spirit to cope with illness, social where the patient wants to meet and gather with family/friends and spiritual where the patient wants to pray and pray for healing. Spiritual care is an important part of the overall care provided to improve the quality of life of patients. The role of nurses is now more involved on treatment measures. Proper methods in clinical supervision are necessary for the implementation of spiritual care to be as important as physical care, one of them using drill method. This study aims to analyze the influence of drill methods in the team leader's clinical supervision on the implementation of nurses spiritual care. The research method used is quasy experiment with pretest-posttest research design with control group design. The population of nurse research in inpatient room of PKU Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta and PKU Muhammadiyah Gamping Hospital. A total of 32 nurses were taken as samples through consecutive sampling technique. To see the implementation of spiritual care used observation sheet refers to the label Nursing Interventions Classification, spiritual care is observed before and after the application of drill methods in clinical supervision. Data were analyzed by paired t-test. The results showed the average of nurses' spiritual care before the drill method applied to the intervention group was 6,56 and 6,13 in the control group, after drill method applied in the intervention group was 17,44 and 6,50 in the control group. The results of statistical tests showed that there was a significant difference in nurse's spiritual care before and after the application of drill methods in the intervention group. It is recommended for the hospital to improve the implementation of clinical supervision to the nurses

Spiritual Care Training for Mothers of Children with Cancer: Effects on Quality of Care and Mental Health of Caregivers.

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Borjalilu, Somaieh; Shahidi, Shahriar; Mazaheri, Mohammad Ali; Emami, Amir Hossein

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a spiritual care training package in maternal caregivers of children with cancer. This study was a quasi-experimental study with pretest and posttest design consisting of a sample of 42 mothers of children diagnosed as having cancer. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. The training package consisted of seven group training sessions offered in a children's hospital in Tehran. All mothers completed the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) at pre and post test and after a three month follow up. There was significant difference between anxiety and spiritual, religious, Personalized care and total scores spiritual care between the intervention and control groups at follow-up (Pspiritual care training program promotes spirituality, personalized care, religiosity and spiritual care as well as decreasing anxiety in mothers of children with cancer and decreases anxiety. It may be concluded that spiritual care training could be used effectively in reducing distressful spiritual challenges in mothers of children with cancer.

Nurses' and midwives' acquisition of competency in spiritual care: a focus on education.

Science.gov (United States)

Attard, Josephine; Baldacchino, Donia R; Camilleri, Liberato

2014-12-01

The debate that spirituality is 'caught' in practice rather than 'taught' implies that spiritual awareness comes about through clinical experience and exposure, requiring no formal education and integration within the curricula. This is challenged as it seems that providing students with a 'taught' component equips students with tools to identify and strengthen resources in 'catching' the concept. This study forms part of a modified Delphi study, which aims to identify the predictive effect of pre- and post-registration 'taught' study units in spiritual care competency of qualified nurses/midwives. A purposive sample of 111 nurses and 101 midwives were eligible to participate in the study. Quantitative data were collected by the Spiritual Care Competency Scale (SCCS) (Van Leeuwen et al., 2008) [response rate: nurses (89%; n=99) and midwives (74%; n=75)]. Overall nurses/midwives who had undertaken the study units on spiritual care scored higher in the competency of spiritual care. Although insignificant, nurses scored higher in the overall competency in spiritual care than the midwives. 'Taught' study units on spiritual care at pre- or post-registration nursing/midwifery education may contribute towards the acquisition of competency in spiritual care. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spirituality and distress in palliative care consultation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, Judith; Paice, Judith A; Cameron, Jacqueline R; Shott, Susan

2005-08-01

One's spirituality or religious beliefs and practices may have a profound impact on how the individual copes with the suffering that so often accompanies advanced disease. Several previous studies suggest that negative religious coping can significantly affect health outcomes. The primary aim of this study was to explore the relationship between spirituality, religious coping, and symptoms of distress among a group of inpatients referred to the palliative care consult service. Pilot study. The study was conducted in a large academic medical center with a comprehensive Palliative Care and Home Hospice Program. (1) National Comprehensive Cancer Network Distress Management Assessment Tool; (2) Pargament Brief Religious Coping Scale (Brief RCOPE); (3) Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being (FACIT-Sp); (4) Puchalski's FICA; and (5) Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS-SF). The 31 subjects surveyed experienced moderate distress (5.8 +/- 2.7), major physical and psychosocial symptom burden, along with reduced function and significant caregiving needs. The majority (87.2%) perceived themselves to be at least somewhat spiritual, with 77.4% admitting to being at least somewhat religious. Negative religious coping (i.e., statements regarding punishment or abandonment by God) was positively associated with distress, confusion, depression, and negatively associated with physical and emotional well-being, as well as quality of life. Palliative care clinicians should be alert to symptoms of spiritual distress and intervene accordingly. Future research is needed to identify optimal techniques to address negative religious coping.

Spirituality Self-Care Practices as a Mediator between Quality of Life and Depression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary L. White

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to develop a midrange theory, building on Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory (SCDNT to include constructs of religion, spirituality, and spiritual self‑care practices. This mid-range theory, White’s theory of spirituality and spiritual self-care (WTSSSC, was developed and tested as part of a larger study of African American patients with heart failure (HF. The aim of the study was to determine if spiritual self-care practices were mediating the relationship between depression and quality of life for African Americans diagnosed with heart failure. Participants in this study included 142 African Americans diagnosed with HF who were recruited at the clinic where they were being treated. Four instruments were used to measure spiritual self-care practices (White’s Spiritual Self-Care Practice Scale (WSPSCPC, depression symptomology (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9, quality of life (World Health Organization QOL (WHOQOL-Bref, and personal characteristics. Results of the analysis were statistically significant, indicating that spirituality self-care practices were mediating the relationship between depression and quality of life for African American individuals diagnosed with HF. As the population ages and chronic illness becomes more common, nurses need to promote the use of spirituality self-care practices to help patients maintain their well-being.

The Influence of Skill Development Training Program for Spiritual Care of Elderly Individual on Elderly Care Technician Students' Perception of Spiritual Support.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulduk, Serap; Usta, Esra; Dinçer, Yeliz

2017-06-01

Spiritual care means helping an individual protect, maintain and gain all the dimensions of his/her existence. Elderly care technicians face numerous cases or crisis situations in which elderly individuals from different backgrounds question the meaning and value of life. Elderly care technicians must acknowledge that the spirituality is an important element in the way an elderly individual receives healthcare and they must be equipped for this matter. This study was conducted in order to examine the influence of "Skill Development Training Program for Spiritual Care of Elderly Individual," which was carried out with students from elderly care program, on the perception of spirituality support in a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study design with control group. As the data collection form, "Spiritual Support Perception" (SSP) scale was used. The mean scores of the intervention group after the training and after one month are 50.39 ± 5.34 and 51.13 ± 4.98, respectively, and those of the control group are 43.16 ± 4.83 and 42.72 ± 4.48. A statistically significant difference was found between the mean scores of the intervention group from the pretest and the posttests immediately after the training and one month after the training (f = 94.247, p = 0.001). In the control group, however, there was no significant change in the SSP mean scores (f = 0.269, p = 0.77). As a result, this study pointed out the necessity of such training programs for healthcare professionals to make a distinction between their professional duties and their own personalities in order to offer spiritual care to the elderly individual.

Spirituality in Cancer Care (PDQ)

Science.gov (United States)

... Data Conducting Clinical Trials Statistical Tools and Data Terminology Resources NCI Data Catalog Cryo-EM NCI's Role ... help patients with spiritual needs during cancer care, medical staff will listen to the wishes of the ...

Training hospital staff on spiritual care in palliative care influences patient-reported outcomes: Results of a quasi-experimental study.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Geer, Joep; Groot, Marieke; Andela, Richtsje; Leget, Carlo; Prins, Jelle; Vissers, Kris; Zock, Hetty

2017-09-01

Spiritual care is reported to be important to palliative patients. There is an increasing need for education in spiritual care. To measure the effects of a specific spiritual care training on patients' reports of their perceived care and treatment. A pragmatic controlled trial conducted between February 2014 and March 2015. The intervention was a specific spiritual care training implemented by healthcare chaplains to eight multidisciplinary teams in six hospitals on regular wards in which patients resided in both curative and palliative trajectories. In total, 85 patients were included based on the Dutch translation of the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool. Data were collected in the intervention and control wards pre- and post-training using questionnaires on physical symptoms, spiritual distress, involvement and attitudes (Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List) and on the perceived focus of healthcare professionals on patients' spiritual needs. All 85 patients had high scores on spiritual themes and involvement. Patients reported that attention to their spiritual needs was very important. We found a significant ( p = 0.008) effect on healthcare professionals' attention to patients' spiritual and existential needs and a significant ( p = 0.020) effect in favour of patients' sleep. No effect on the spiritual distress of patients or their proxies was found. The effects of spiritual care training can be measured using patient-reported outcomes and seemed to indicate a positive effect on the quality of care. Future research should focus on optimizing the spiritual care training to identify the most effective elements and developing strategies to ensure long-term positive effects. This study was registered at the Dutch Trial Register: NTR4559.

Experiences of spirituality and spiritual values in the context of nursing - an integrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudolfsson, Gudrun; Berggren, Ingela; da Silva, António Barbosa

2014-01-01

Spirituality is often mistakenly equated with religion but is in fact a far broader concept. The aim of this integrative review was to describe experiences of the positive impact of spirituality and spiritual values in the context of nursing. The analysis was guided by Whittemore and Knafl's integrative review method. The findings revealed seven themes: 'Being part of a greater wholeness', 'Togetherness - value based relationships', 'Developing inner strength', 'Ministering to patients', 'Maintaining one's sense of humanity', 'Viewing life as a gift evokes a desire to 'give back'' and 'Achieving closure - life goes on'. It is difficult to draw definite conclusions, as spirituality involves many perspectives on various levels of awareness. However, spirituality was considered more inclusive, fluid and personal. Furthermore, it emerged that spirituality and spiritual values in the context of nursing are closely intertwined with the concept of caring.

Spirituality, religion, and healing in palliative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Puchalski, Christina M; Dorff, Rabbi Elliot; Hendi, Imam Yahya

2004-11-01

In end-of-life care, attending to spiritual needs ensures that a dying patient has the opportunity to find meaning in the midst of suffering and to have the opportunity for love, compassion, and partnership in their final journey. This article summarizes some of the beliefs and traditions from Judaism, Islam, and Christianity that affect people as they face their own dying and mortality. People who do not participate in any formal religion also have a drive to find meaning in the midst of suffering and dying. They may find this in personal ways. This article presents some practical tools to help clinicians address and respect spiritual and religious issues of patients. It is crucial that our culture and our systems of care for the dying include a spiritual approach so that dying can be meaningful and even filled with hope.

Developing Agreed and Accepted Understandings of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Concepts among Members of an Innovative Spirituality Interest Group in the Republic of Ireland

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Fiona Timmins

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A Spirituality Interest Group (SIG was set up in in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Republic of Ireland (ROI, in March 2013. This paper reports on some of the journey and requirements involved in developing the group. It highlights the essential work of establishing agreed understandings in an objective way in order for the group to move forward with action. These agreed understandings have contributed to the group’s success. Outlining the group’s journey in arriving at agreements may be of use to others considering creating similar groups. One key action taken to determine the suitability of the group’s aims and terms of reference was the distribution of a Survey Monkey to group members (n = 28 in 2014. One early meeting of the group discussed future goals and direction using the responses of this anonymous survey. This paper reports on the results of the survey regarding the establishment of the SIG and the development of a shared understanding of spiritual care among the members. There is consensus in the group that the spiritual care required by clients receiving healthcare ought to be an integrated effort across the healthcare team. However, there is an acceptance that spirituality and spiritual care are not always clearly understood concepts in practice. By developing shared or at least accepted understandings of spirituality and spiritual care, SIG hopes to be able to underpin both research and practice with solid foundational conceptual understanding, and in the process also to meet essential prerequisites for achieving the group’s aims.

Toward a Holistic Approach to Spiritual Health Care for People With Schizophrenia.

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Ho, Rainbow T H; Wan, Adrian H Y; Chan, Caitlin K P

2016-01-01

Medical and behavioral treatments are the predominant types of rehabilitation services for people with schizophrenia. Spirituality in people with schizophrenia remains poorly conceptualized, thereby limiting knowledge advancement in the area of spiritual health care services. To provide a framework for better clinical and research practices, we advocate a holistic approach to investigating spirituality and its application in spiritual health care services of people with schizophrenia.

Training hospital staff on spiritual care in palliative care influences patient-reported outcomes : Results of a quasi-experimental study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van de Geer, Joep; Groot, Marieke; Andela, Richtsje; Leget, Carlo; Prins, Jelle; Vissers, Kris; Zock, Hetty

Background: Spiritual care is reported to be important to palliative patients. There is an increasing need for education in spiritual care. Aim: To measure the effects of a specific spiritual care training on patients' reports of their perceived care and treatment. Design: A pragmatic controlled

Spiritual pain among patients with advanced cancer in palliative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Mako, Caterina; Galek, Kathleen; Poppito, Shannon R

2006-10-01

The large body of empirical research suggesting that patients' spiritual and existential experiences influence the disease process has raised the need for health care professionals to understand the complexity of patients' spiritual pain and distress. The current study explores the multidimensional nature of spiritual pain, in patients with end-stage cancer, in relation to physical pain, symptom severity, and emotional distress. The study combines a quantitative evaluation of participants' intensity of spiritual pain, physical pain, depression, and intensity of illness, with a qualitative focus on the nature of patients' spiritual pain and the kinds of interventions patients believed would ameliorate their spiritual pain. Fifty-seven patients with advanced stage cancer in a palliative care hospital were interviewed by chaplains. Overall, 96% of the patients reported experiencing spiritual pain, but they expressed it in different ways: (1) as an intrapsychic conflict, (2) as interpersonal loss or conflict, or (3) in relation to the divine. Intensity of spiritual pain was correlated with depression (r = 0.43, p spiritual pain did not vary by age, gender, disease course or religious affiliation. Given both the universality of spiritual pain and the multifaceted nature of pain, we propose that when patients report the experience of pain, more consideration be given to the complexity of the phenomena and that spiritual pain be considered a contributing factor. The authors maintain that spiritual pain left unaddressed both impedes recovery and contributes to the overall suffering of the patient.

Development and Validation of the Spiritual Care Needs Inventory for Acute Care Hospital Patients in Taiwan.

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Wu, Li-Fen; Koo, Malcolm; Liao, Yu-Chen; Chen, Yuh-Min; Yeh, Dah-Cherng

2016-12-01

Spiritual care is increasingly being recognized as an integral aspect of nursing practice. The aim of this study was to develop a new instrument, Spiritual Care Needs Inventory (SCNI), for measuring spiritual care needs in acute care hospital patients with different religious beliefs. The 21-item instrument was completed by 1,351 adult acute care patients recruited from a medical center in Taiwan. Principal components analysis of the SCNI revealed two components, (a) meaning and hope and (b) caring and respect, which together accounted for 66.2% of the total variance. The internal consistency measures for the two components were 0.96 and 0.91, respectively. Furthermore, younger age, female sex, Christian religion, and regularly attending religious activities had significantly higher mean total scores in both components. The SCNI was found to be a simple instrument with excellent internal consistency for measuring the spiritual care needs in acute care hospital patients. © The Author(s) 2015.

Quality of life and religious-spiritual coping in palliative cancer care patients

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Ticiane Dionizio de Sousa Matos

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objectives: to compare the quality of life and religious-spiritual coping of palliative cancer care patients with a group of healthy participants; assess whether the perceived quality of life is associated with the religious-spiritual coping strategies; identify the clinical and sociodemographic variables related to quality of life and religious-spiritual coping. Method: cross-sectional study involving 96 palliative outpatient care patient at a public hospital in the interior of the state of São Paulo and 96 healthy volunteers, using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Brief Religious-Spiritual Coping scale. Results: 192 participants were interviewed who presented good quality of life and high use of Religious-Spiritual Coping. Greater use of negative Religious-Spiritual Coping was found in Group A, as well as lesser physical and psychological wellbeing and quality of life. An association was observed between quality of life scores and Religious-Spiritual Coping (p<0.01 in both groups. Male sex, Catholic religion and the Brief Religious-Spiritual Coping score independently influenced the quality of life scores (p<0.01. Conclusion: both groups presented high quality of life and Religious-Spiritual Coping scores. Male participants who were active Catholics with higher Religious-Spiritual Coping scores presented a better perceived quality of life, suggesting that this coping strategy can be stimulated in palliative care patients.

Is failure to meet spiritual needs associated with cancer patients' perceptions of quality of care and their satisfaction with care?

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Astrow, Alan B; Wexler, Ann; Texeira, Kenneth; He, M Kai; Sulmasy, Daniel P

2007-12-20

Few studies regarding patients' views about spirituality and health care have included patients with cancer who reside in the urban, northeastern United States. Even fewer have investigated the relationship between patients' spiritual needs and perceptions of quality and satisfaction with care. Outpatients (N = 369) completed a questionnaire at the Saint Vincent's Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York, NY. The instrument included the Quality of End-of-Life Care and Satisfaction with Treatment quality-of-care scale and questions about spiritual and religious beliefs and needs. The participants' mean age was 58 years; 65% were female; 67% were white; 65% were college educated; and 32% had breast cancer. Forty-seven percent were Catholic; 19% were Jewish; 16% were Protestant; and 6% were atheist or agnostic. Sixty-six percent reported that they were spiritual but not religious. Only 29% attended religious services at least once per week. Seventy-three percent reported at least one spiritual need; 58% thought it appropriate for physicians to inquire about their spiritual needs. Eighteen percent reported that their spiritual needs were not being met. Only 6% reported that any staff members had inquired about their spiritual needs (0.9% of inquiries by physicians). Patients who reported that their spiritual needs were not being met gave lower ratings of the quality of care (P = .009) and reported lower satisfaction with care (P = .006). Most patients had spiritual needs. A slight majority thought it appropriate to be asked about these needs, although fewer thought this compared with reports in other settings. Few had their spiritual needs addressed by the staff. Patients whose spiritual needs were not met reported lower ratings of quality and satisfaction with care.

An exploration of how spiritual nursing care is applied in clinical nursing practice

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Lydia V. Monareng

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Spiritual nursing care is a significant concept for nurses as they are expected to provide holistic care to patients. Many nurses have difficulty to understand and integrate it into practice and consequently neglect this aspect of care. The study was conducted to explore and describe how professional nurses provide spiritual care to patients. A generic qualitative, explorative and descriptive study was conducted based on Symbolic Interactionism as the philosophical base. The population comprised professional nurses from a public hospital. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling methods. Data were collected through the use of individual, focus group interviews and observation. Data analysis methods utilised included the NUD*ISTcomputer program, coding, constant comparison method and Tesch’s guidelines on data analysis. Findings revealed that nurses struggled to conceptualise spiritual nursing care and to differentiate it from emotional, social or psychological care. However, prayer with or for patients and singing spiritual songs had the highest count of interventions perceived to be effective. Recommendations suggest that the scope of practice and curriculum of training of nurses be reviewed to consider how spiritual nursing care can be evidenced and realised both in the classroom and in the clinical setting. Spiritual nursing care is still a neglected and seemingly complex component of patient care. However, the scientific worldview practices, beliefs and insufficient statutory endorsement of such care hamper its realisation in practice.

Experiences of Spirituality and Spiritual Values in the Context of Nursing – An Integrative Review

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Rudolfsson, Gudrun; Berggren, Ingela; da Silva, António Barbosa

2014-01-01

Spirituality is often mistakenly equated with religion but is in fact a far broader concept. The aim of this integrative review was to describe experiences of the positive impact of spirituality and spiritual values in the context of nursing. The analysis was guided by Whittemore and Knafl’s integrative review method. The findings revealed seven themes: ‘Being part of a greater wholeness’, ‘Togetherness − value based relationships’, ‘Developing inner strength’, ‘Ministering to patients’, ‘Maintaining one’s sense of humanity’, ‘Viewing life as a gift evokes a desire to ‘give back’’ and ‘Achieving closure − life goes on’. It is difficult to draw definite conclusions, as spirituality involves many perspectives on various levels of awareness. However, spirituality was considered more inclusive, fluid and personal. Furthermore, it emerged that spirituality and spiritual values in the context of nursing are closely intertwined with the concept of caring. PMID:25598856

Spirituality in the Healthcare Workplace

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Donia Baldacchino

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Spirituality involves a sense of connectedness, meaning making and transcendence. There is abundant published research that focuses on the importance of spirituality to patients and their families during times of illness and distress. However over the last decade there has also been a growing awareness about the importance of considering the need to address peoples’ spiritual needs in the workplace. Engaging in ones own personal spirituality involves connecting with the inner self, becoming more self aware of ones humanity and limitations. Engaging with ones personal spirituality can also mean that people begin to greater find meaning and purpose in life and at work. This may be demonstrated in the workplace by collegial relationships and teamwork. Those who engage with their own spirituality also engage more easily with others through a connectedness with other staff and by aligning their values with the respective organization if they fit well with ones personal values. Workplace spirituality is oriented towards self-awareness of an inner life which gives meaning, purpose and nourishment to the employees’ dynamic relationships at the workplace and is eventually also nourished by meaningful work. Exercising ones personal spirituality contributes towards generating workplace spirituality. Essentially acting from ones own personal spirituality framework by being in doing can contribute towards a person becoming a healing and therapeutic presence for others, that is nourishing in many workplaces. Personal spirituality in healthcare can be enhanced by: reflection in and on action; role-modeling; taking initiative for active presence in care; committing oneself to the spiritual dimension of care; and, integrating spirituality in health caregivers’ education. As spirituality is recognized as becoming increasingly important for patients in healthcare, increasing educational opportunities are now becoming available for nurses internationally that

Workplace spirituality in health care: an integrated review of the literature.

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Pirkola, Heidi; Rantakokko, Piia; Suhonen, Marjo

2016-10-01

The aim is to describe workplace spirituality as a concept and phenomenon in health care and to explore the points of view from which it has been studied in nursing. Personnel in nursing are ageing and recruitment is challenging; workplace spirituality might benefit both employees and organisations. Workplace spirituality has three levels - individual, group and organisational - and presents different components at each level. An integrated literature search identified 632 studies; after screening for relevance and quality, we identified eight peer-reviewed articles. The data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Workplace spirituality in nursing is mostly defined and researched from the individual viewpoint. The definition includes dimensions of inner life, meaningful work, interconnectedness, transcendence and alignment between values. A sense of community and meaningful work are the most important dimensions of workplace spirituality in health care. Group and organisational levels of workplace spirituality are the most important and still the least studied. Research is concentrated in Canada and Asia; more research in Europe is needed. Nurse managers can enhance workplace spirituality by contributing to organisational culture and emphasising teamwork. This requires more education and training in workplace spirituality. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Support to spiritual needs in hospital care. Integration perspective in modern hospitals].

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Proserpio, Tullio; Piccinelli, Claudia; Arice, Carmine; Petrini, Massimo; Mozzanica, Mario; Veneroni, Laura; Clerici, Carlo Alfredo

2014-01-01

Within the course of medical care in the most advanced health care settings, an increasing attention is being paid to the so-called care humanization. According to this perspective, we try to integrate the usual care pathways with aspects related to the spiritual and religious dimension of all people and their families, as well as the employees themselves. It is clearly important to establish this kind of practices on the basis of scientific evidences. That is the reason why it's a necessity to improve the knowledge about the importance that spiritual assistance can offer within the current health service. The aim of this work is to show the relevance of the integration of spiritual perspectives in the hospital setting according to a multidisciplinary point of view. In this work many data that emerge from the international scientific literature, as well as the definition that is given to the concept of "spirituality" are analyzed; about this definition in fact there is not unanimous consent even today. It is also analyzed the legal situation in force within the European territory according to the different laws and social realities. Finally, the possible organizational practices related to spiritual support are described and the opportunity to specific accreditation pathways and careful training of chaplains able to integrate traditional religious practices with modern spiritual perspectives is discussed.

Strategies to support spirituality in health care communication: a home hospice cancer caregiver case study.

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Reblin, Maija; Otis-Green, Shirley; Ellington, Lee; Clayton, Margaret F

2014-12-01

Although there is growing recognition of the importance of integrating spirituality within health care, there is little evidence to guide clinicians in how to best communicate with patients and family about their spiritual or existential concerns. Using an audio-recorded home hospice nurse visit immediately following the death of a patient as a case-study, we identify spiritually-sensitive communication strategies. The nurse incorporates spirituality in her support of the family by 1) creating space to allow for the expression of emotions and spiritual beliefs and 2) encouraging meaning-based coping, including emphasizing the caregivers' strengths and reframing negative experiences. Hospice provides an excellent venue for modeling successful examples of spiritual communication. Health care professionals can learn these techniques to support patients and families in their own holistic practice. All health care professionals benefit from proficiency in spiritual communication skills. Attention to spiritual concerns ultimately improves care. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Affordable Care Act and hospital chaplaincy: re-visioning spiritual care, re-valuing institutional wholeness.

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Frierdich, Matthew D

2015-01-01

This article focuses on the institutional dimensions of spiritual care within hospital settings in the context of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), applying policy information and systems theory to re-imagine the value and function of chaplaincy to hospital communities. This article argues that chaplaincy research and practice must look beyond only individual interventions and embrace chaplain competencies of presence, ritual, and communication as foundational tools for institutional spiritual care.

Spiritual needs of patients with chronic pain diseases and cancer - validation of the spiritual needs questionnaire

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Büssing A

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Purpose For many patients confronted with chronic diseases, spirituality/religiosity is a relevant resource to cope. While most studies on patients' spiritual needs refer to the care of patients at the end of life, our intention was to develop an instrument to measure spiritual, existential and psychosocial need of patients with chronic diseases. Methods In an anonymous cross-sectional survey, we applied the Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ version 1.2. to 210 patients (75% women, mean age 54 ± 12 years with chronic pain conditions (67%, cancer (28%, other chronic conditions (5%. Patients were recruited at the Community Hospital Herdecke, the Institute for Complementary Medicine (University of Bern, and at a conference of a cancer support group in Herten. Results Factor analysis of the 19-item instrument (Cronbach's alpha = .93 pointed to 4 factors which explain 67% of variance: Religious Needs, Need for Inner Peace, Existentialistic Needs (Reflection/Meaning, and Actively Giving. Within the main sample of patients with chronic pain and cancer, Needs for Inner Peace had the highest scores, followed by Self competent Attention; Existentialistic Needs had low scores, while the Religious Needs scores indicate no interest. Patients with cancer had significantly higher SpNQ scores than patients with chronic pain conditions. There were just some weak associations between Actively Giving and life satisfaction (r = .17; p = .012, and negatively with the symptom score (r = -.29; p Need for Inner Peace was weakly associated with satisfaction with treatment efficacy (r = .24; p Conclusion The preliminary results indicate that spiritual needs are conceptually different from life satisfaction, and can be interpreted as the patients' longing for spiritual well-being. Methods how health care professionals may meet their patients' spiritual needs remain to be explored.

Spiritual and religious components of patient care in the neonatal intensive care unit: sacred themes in a secular setting.

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Catlin, E A; Guillemin, J H; Thiel, M M; Hammond, S; Wang, M L; O'Donnell, J

2001-01-01

We hypothesized that spiritual distress was a common, unrecognized theme for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) care providers. An anonymous questionnaire form assigned to a data table in a relational database was designed. Surveys were completed by 66% of NICU staff. All respondents viewed a family's spiritual and religious concerns as having a place in patient care. Eighty-three percent reported praying for babies privately. Asked what theological sense they made of suffering of NICU babies, 2% replied that children do not suffer in the NICU. Regarding psychological suffering of families, the majority felt God could prevent this, with parents differing (p = 0.039) from nonparents. There exists a strong undercurrent of spirituality and religiosity in the study NICU. These data document actual religious and spiritual attitudes and practices and support a need for pastoral resources for both families and care providers. NICU care providers approach difficulties of their work potentially within a religious and spiritual rather than a uniquely secular framework.

[Validity and Reliability of Korean Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale].

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Chung, Mi Ja; Park, Youngrye; Eun, Young

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to examine the validity and reliability of the Korean Version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (K-SCCS). A cross-sectional study design was used. The K-SCCS consisted of 26 questions to measure spiritual care competence of nurses. Participants, 228 nurses who had more than 3 years'experience as a nurse, completed the survey. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the construct validity and correlations of K-SCCS and spiritual well-being (SWB) were used to examine the criterion validity of K-SCCS. Cronbach's alpha was used to test internal consistency. The construct and the criterion-related validity of K-SCCS were supported as measures of spiritual care competence. Cronbach's alpha was .95. Factor loadings of the 26 questions ranged from .60 to .96. Construct validity of K-SCCS was verified by confirmatory factor analysis (RMSEA=.08, CFI=.90, NFI=.85). Criterion validity compared to the SWB showed significant correlation (r=.44, pspiritual care competence with validity and reliability. However, further study is needed to retest the verification of the factor analysis related to factor 2 (professionalisation and improving the quality of spiritual care) and factor 3 (personal support and patient counseling). Therefore, we recommend using the total score without distinguishing subscales.

'Spiritual care is not the hospital's business': a qualitative study on the perspectives of patients about the integration of spirituality in healthcare settings.

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Pujol, Nicolas; Jobin, Guy; Beloucif, Sadek

2016-08-24

Several studies have investigated the relationship between spirituality and health. They claim the need to develop spiritual care to answer patients' spiritual suffering and to promote spiritual well-being. However, the present study critically analyses the following idea: we ought to take care of the spiritual dimension of patients. Does this interest for spirituality not come from healthcare professionals' desire more than from the patients themselves? To answer this question, we explored the perspectives of individuals with cancer regarding the integration of spirituality in the healthcare setting. Qualitative design using semistructured interviews to focus on subjective experience. One of the major public hospitals of Paris, France. 20 participants (n=11 men and n=9 women) with advanced cancer (stage IV). Age ranges from 37 to 80 years with a mean age of 58.7 years. Findings demonstrated that participants do not expect help from the hospital to handle spiritual issues but they wish for their spiritual dimension to be simply recognised as a part of their identity and dignity. Findings invite us to view the question of spirituality not as a new dimension of care but as a new challenge for healthcare institutions to recognise that the persons they are working for are not just 'patients' but human beings with a precious interior life. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

The essence of spirituality of terminally ill patients.

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Chao, Co-Shi Chantal; Chen, Ching-Huey; Yen, Miaofen

2002-12-01

The purpose of this hermeneutic study was to investigate the essence of spirituality of terminally ill patients. In-depth unstructured interviews were used as the method for data collection. In the six-month period of data collection, the researcher was in the role of a hospice palliative care consultant who directly took care of the subject patients in a hospice ward of a teaching hospital. The six subjects were selected purposively according to various demographic backgrounds. Interview transcripts provided the data for analysis. The results were composed of four constitutive patterns and ten themes. The first constitutive pattern was "Communion with Self" which included three themes: (1) Self-identity--spirituality is the discovery of the authentic self. (2) Wholeness--a human being is full of contradictions but still in wholeness. (3) Inner peace--spirituality is negotiating conflicts for self-reconciliation. The second constitutive pattern was "Communion with others" which included two themes: (1) Love--spirituality is a caring relationship but not an over-attachment to others. (2) Reconciliation--spirituality is to forgive and to be forgiven. The third constitutive pattern was "Communion with Nature" which included two themes: (1) Inspiration from the nature--spirituality is the resonance of the marvelous beauty of nature. (2) Creativity--spirituality is conceiving imaginatively. The fourth constitutive pattern was "Communion with Higher Being" which included three themes: (1) Faithfulness--spirituality is keeping the trust dependably. (2) Hope--spirituality is claiming possibilities. (3) Gratitude--spirituality is giving thanks and embracing grace. The scientific rigor of this qualitative research as well as the strength and limitations of the study are reported. Implications for hospice palliative care and future research are recommended.

Bring about benefit, forestall harm: what communication studies say about spirituality and cancer care.

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Tullis, Jillian A

2010-01-01

Technological advances in medicine allow health care providers to diagnose diseases earlier, diminish suffering, and prolong life. These advances, although widely revered for changing the face of cancer care, come at a cost for patients, families, and even health care providers. One widely cited consequence of better diagnostics and improved treatment regiments is the sense that there is always one more test or therapy available to extend life. Such an approach to cancer care can prove detrimental to patients? healing. In addition, these new tests and treatments further focus attention on the body as the site of healing and cure while downplaying other aspects of health. The absence of psychological, social, and spiritual care from a patient's cancer care plan compromises healing and makes palliative and end of life care more complicated. In this essay, I discuss the tensions that exist between contemporary cancer care and spirituality and use Communication Studies scholarship to navigate the challenges of integrating a patient's religious or spiritual beliefs into their cancer treatment and care. In addition to discussing the challenges of communicating about sensitive topics such as illness, spirituality, and dying, this article uses narrative examples from a comprehensive cancer center and a hospice (both in the United States) to understand how people with cancer and other terminal illnesses communicate their spirituality and how these conversations influence health care choices and provide comfort. By understanding how patients communicate about topics such as the meaning of life, quality of life, dying and death, providers are better equipped to offer care that is consistent with a patient's beliefs and life goals. This approach maintains that communication is more than a means of transferring information, but is constitutive. By understanding that communication creates our lives and shapes our worlds, lay and professional caregivers can meet patients where

Alcoholics Anonymous and nursing. Lessons in holism and spiritual care.

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McGee, E M

2000-03-01

Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) is a worldwide, million-member organization that has assisted countless alcoholics to achieve sobriety through a spiritual program of recovery from alcoholism. Based on spiritual principles known as the "Twelve Steps" and "Twelve Traditions," AA has provided a model for other recovery programs such as Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Gamblers Anonymous (GA), and Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous (SLAA). Recovery in AA appears to involve a process of self-transcendence. In recent years, nursing scholars have increasingly explored the concepts of self-transcendence and spirituality as they apply to nursing theory and practice. This article explores the roots and spiritual dimensions of 12-step recovery programs. It further explores the ways in which theoretical and clinical knowledge about the delivery of spiritual care interventions may be gained from an understanding of AA's spiritual approach to recovery.

Culture and spirituality: essential components of palliative care.

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Speck, Peter

2016-06-01

Palliative care advocates a holistic, multiprofessional approach to the care of people with life-threatening disease. In addition to the control of physical symptoms attention should also be paid to psychosocial, cultural and spiritual aspects of the patient's experience of illness. Guidance documents and research evidence reflect the complexity of the patient's journey and the need to regularly assess these areas of need over time. Cultural background can shape how patients respond to life-threatening illness, as can the beliefs held by the patients, whether religious or more broadly spiritual. Research evidence shows the importance of identifying and addressing cultural and spiritual aspects of care held by patients, families and staff. These are often neglected in clinical practice due to the focus on biomedical concerns and staff discomfort in engaging with beliefs and culture. Recent studies have highlighted gaps in the research, and some methodological difficulties and indicate many patients welcome healthcare staff enquiring about the importance of their beliefs and culture. Identifying research priorities is necessary to guide future research and strengthen the evidence base. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Emotional intelligence and spiritual well-being: implications for spiritual care.

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Beauvais, Audrey; Stewart, Julie G; DeNisco, Susan

2014-01-01

Understanding factors that influence spiritual well-being may improve nurses' spiritual caregiving. This study examined relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and spiritual well-being (SWB) in undergraduate and graduate nursing students. Using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) and the spiritual well-being scale (SWBS) relationships were found between managing emotion and spiritual well-being, and managing emotion and existential well-being. Implications for education and practice are discussed.

Exploring Nurse Communication About Spirituality.

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Wittenberg, Elaine; Ragan, Sandra L; Ferrell, Betty

2017-07-01

Although spiritual care is considered one of the pillars of palliative care, many health-care providers never receive formal training on how to communicate about spirituality with patients and families. The aim of this study was to explore the spiritual care experiences of oncology nurses in order to learn more about patient needs and nurse responses. A survey was circulated at a communication training course for oncology nurses in June 2015. Nurses recalled a care experience that included the initiation of a spiritual care topic and their response to the patient/family. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Nurses reported that communication about spirituality was primarily initiated by patients, rather than family members, and spiritual topics commonly emerged during the end of life or when patients experienced spiritual distress. Nurses' experiences highlighted the positive impact spiritual conversations had on the quality of patient care and its benefit to families. Spiritual communication was described as an important nursing role at the end of patients' lives, and nonverbal communication, listening, and discussing patients' emotions were emphasized as important and effective nurse communication skills during spiritual care conversations. Approximately one-third of nurses in the sample reported sharing their own personal spiritual or religious backgrounds with patients, and they reported that these sharing experiences strengthened their own faith. It is evident that patients want to discuss spiritual topics during care. Study findings illustrate the need to develop a spiritual communication curriculum and provide spiritual care communication training to clinicians.

Social representations about religion and spirituality.

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Borges, Moema da Silva; Santos, Marília Borges Couto; Pinheiro, Tiago Gomes

2015-01-01

to identify the social representations about the concepts of spirituality and religion of of health teachers. exploratory and descriptive study, based on a qualitative approach. 25 subjects participated in it. The following instruments were used to collect data: questionnaire to identify the profile; questionnaire of free association, whose inducing words were religion and spirituality, and an interview based on the scale FICA (Puchalski, 2006). the representations about religion and spirituality, for professors, are forged around the faith in God and it gives them meaning and purpose to deal with the challenges of personal and professional living. there are still barriers that need to be overcome with a view to a comprehensive care. For this, it is essential to incorporate spirituality in the process in the curricula of health courses.

Effects of Participation in Support Groups on Alzheimer’s Family Caregivers’ Strain and Spiritual Wellbeing

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Farahnaz Mohammadi

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Since support for family caregivers is crucial in providing care for elderly, this study was conducted to examine the effects of participation in support groups on Alzheimer’s family caregivers’ strain and spiritual wellbeing. Materials and Methods & Materials: In this semi-experimental study, 32 accessible family caregivers of elderly patients with Alzheimer who had at least one year of experience participated. The intervention consisted of a 4-month active participation in educational and emotional supportive sessions related to patient and caregivers care management. At the end of the intervention, the leadership of the groups was transferred to members of the groups. These sessions were conducted in 3 public centers in the community. Caregivers were assessed by caregiving strain and spiritual wellbeing questionnaires at the beginning, at the end of the intervention and 2 months later. Data was analyzed by ANOVA with repeated measurement. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: In general, 32 accessible family caregivers of elderly Alzheimer patients with at least one year of experience participated in this study. The mean of spiritual wellbeing through three mentioned measurements showed an improvement (26.029, 34.029, 34.471, whereas the care giving strain showed a decreasing trend (40.118, 32.706, 31.265. Findings based on ANOVA-repeated measurement revealed a significantly decrease in care giving strain (P=0.001 and an improvement in spiritual wellbeing (P=0.005. Conclusion: Participation in the support groups as a manifest of empowering helps family caregivers to deal effectively with care giving difficulties. Psychoeducational programs lead to a decreased care giving strain and improve the spiritual wellbeing of the caregivers. Hence, supportive interventions should be considered by policy makers and professional health care providers for elderly people.

Nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and attitudes toward the principles of dying with dignity: A sample from Turkey.

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Gurdogan, Eylem Pasli; Kurt, Duygu; Aksoy, Berna; Kınıcı, Ezgi; Şen, Ayla

2017-03-01

Spiritual care is vital for holistic care and dying with dignity. The aim of this study was to determine nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and their attitudes toward dying with dignity. This study was conducted with 289 nurses working at a public hospital. Results showed three things. First, spiritual care perceptions and attitudes toward dying with dignity were more positive in female participants than in male participants. Second, there was a correlation between participants' education levels and their perceptions of spiritual care. Third, there was also a correlation between participants' attitudes toward dying with dignity and their perceptions of spiritual care.

Embracing a broad spirituality in end of life discussions and advance care planning.

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Churchill, Larry R

2015-04-01

Advance care planning for end of life typically focuses on the mechanics of completing living wills and durable power of attorney documents. Even when spiritual aspects of end of life care are discussed, the dominant assumptions are those of traditional religious systems. A broad view of spirituality is needed, one that may involve traditional religious beliefs but also includes personal understandings of what is holy or sacred. Embracing this broad practice of spirituality will help both familial and professional caregivers honor an essential aspect of end of life discussions and promote greater discernment of the deep meaning in advance care documents.

Spiritual care of cancer patients by integrated medicine in urban green space: a pilot study.

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Nakau, Maiko; Imanishi, Jiro; Imanishi, Junichi; Watanabe, Satoko; Imanishi, Ayumi; Baba, Takeshi; Hirai, Kei; Ito, Toshinori; Chiba, Wataru; Morimoto, Yukihiro

2013-01-01

Psycho-oncological care, including spiritual care, is essential for cancer patients. Integrated medicine, a therapy combining modern western medicine with various kinds of complementary and alternative medicine, can be appropriate for the spiritual care of cancer because of the multidimensional characteristics of the spirituality. In particular, therapies that enable patients to establish a deeper contact with nature, inspire feelings of life and growth of plants, and involve meditation may be useful for spiritual care as well as related aspects such as emotion. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of spiritual care of cancer patients by integrated medicine in a green environment. The present study involved 22 cancer patients. Integrated medicine consisted of forest therapy, horticultural therapy, yoga meditation, and support group therapy, and sessions were conducted once a week for 12 weeks. The spirituality (the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual well-being), quality of life (Short Form-36 Health Survey Questionnaire), fatigue (Cancer Fatigue Scale), psychological state (Profile of Mood States, short form, and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) and natural killer cell activity were assessed before and after intervention. In Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual well-being, there were significant differences in functional well-being and spiritual well-being pre- and postintervention. This program improved quality of life and reduced cancer-associated fatigue. Furthermore, some aspects of psychological state were improved and natural killer cell activity was increased. It is indicated that integrated medicine performed in a green environment is potentially useful for the emotional and spiritual well-being of cancer patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[HIV Stigma and Spiritual Care in People Living With HIV].

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Yu, Chia-Hui; Chiu, Yi-Chi; Cheng, Su-Fen; Ko, Nai-Ying

2018-06-01

HIV infection has been a manageable and chronic illness in Taiwan since the highly active antiretroviral therapy was introduced in 1997. HIV infection is a stigmatized disease due to its perceived association with risky behaviors. HIV often carries a negative image, and people living with HIV(PLWH) face discrimination on multiple fronts. Internalized HIV stigma impacts the spiritual health of people living with HIV in terms of increased levels of shame, self-blame, fear of disclosing HIV status, and isolation and decreased value and connections with God, others, the environment, and the self. Nursing professionals provide holistic care for all people living with HIV and value their lives in order to achieve the harmony of body, mind, and spirit. This article describes the stigma that is currently associated with HIV and how stigma-related discrimination affects the spiritual health of PLWH and then proposes how to reduce discrimination and stigma in order to improve the spiritual health of PLWH through appropriate spiritual care. Reducing HIV stigma and promoting spiritual well-being will enable Taiwan to achieve the 'Three Zeros' of zero discrimination, zero infection, and zero death advocated by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS for ending the AIDS epidemic in 2030.

Spirituality and caring in old age and the significance of religion - a hermeneutical study from Norway.

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Rykkje, Linda L R; Eriksson, Katie; Raholm, Maj-Britt

2013-06-01

Spirituality is an important part of caring for the whole human being. However, there is lack of consensus about the concept parameter, and there is an ongoing discussion in nursing regarding the relation between religion and spirituality. Spirituality and religion is found to support health and well-being in old age, and this article portrays how older Norwegians understand religion and religious support as part of spirituality and caring. The theoretical framework in this study is Eriksson's caritative caring theory, and the research aim is to broaden the understanding of spirituality from a caring science perspective. The methodology is hermeneutical according to Gadamer. The study is based upon qualitative content analysis of 30 interviews with 17 participants above 74 years, six men and 11 women. The findings portray connectedness with a Higher power, including how Christianity has influenced upon the philosophy of life of the participants, wonders about the end of life/afterlife, and the meaning of religious symbols and rituals. The study also portrays how religious support may foster dignity, especially near the end of life, and experiences and opinions regarding support from nursing personnel. The study concludes that religiousness cannot be separated from spirituality, and that nurses should be able to provide spiritual care to a certain extent. Spiritual care including religious support according to patients' desires may foster health and preserve human dignity. © 2012 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Patients’ and caregivers’ needs, experiences, preferences and research priorities in spiritual care: A focus group study across nine countries

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Selman, Lucy Ellen; Brighton, Lisa Jane; Sinclair, Shane; Karvinen, Ikali; Egan, Richard; Speck, Peter; Powell, Richard A; Deskur-Smielecka, Ewa; Glajchen, Myra; Adler, Shelly; Puchalski, Christina; Hunter, Joy; Gikaara, Nancy; Hope, Jonathon

2017-01-01

Background: Spiritual distress is prevalent in advanced disease, but often neglected, resulting in unnecessary suffering. Evidence to inform spiritual care practices in palliative care is limited. Aim: To explore spiritual care needs, experiences, preferences and research priorities in an international sample of patients with life-limiting disease and family caregivers. Design: Focus group study. Setting/participants: Separate patient and caregiver focus groups were conducted at 11 sites in South Africa, Kenya, South Korea, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland and Poland. Discussions were transcribed, translated into English and analysed thematically. Results: A total of 74 patients participated: median age 62 years; 53 had cancer; 48 were women. In total, 71 caregivers participated: median age 61 years; 56 were women. Two-thirds of participants were Christian. Five themes are described: patients’ and caregivers’ spiritual concerns, understanding of spirituality and its role in illness, views and experiences of spiritual care, preferences regarding spiritual care, and research priorities. Participants reported wide-ranging spiritual concerns spanning existential, psychological, religious and social domains. Spirituality supported coping, but could also result in framing illness as punishment. Participants emphasised the need for staff competence in spiritual care. Spiritual care was reportedly lacking, primarily due to staff members’ de-prioritisation and lack of time. Patients’ research priorities included understanding the qualities of human connectedness and fostering these skills in staff. Caregivers’ priorities included staff training, assessment, studying impact, and caregiver’s spiritual care needs. Conclusion: To meet patient and caregiver preferences, healthcare providers should be able to address their spiritual concerns. Findings should inform patient- and caregiver-centred spiritual care provision, education and

An exploration of the extent of inclusion of spirituality and spiritual care concepts in core nursing textbooks.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Timmins, Fiona

2015-01-01

Holistic care that encompasses a spiritual dimension is an expectation in modern healthcare (Rothman, 2009). Increasing attention is being paid to the role of nurses in providing spiritual care to patients. However nurses lack specific skills and expertise in this area (Lundmark, 2006; Timmins, 2010; RCN, 2011), and the extent to which their undergraduate education prepares them for this role is unclear. There is often an absence of clear direction about what to teach undergraduate nursing students. The extent to which core textbooks direct student studies in this area is not known. There is some evidence that some of these fundamental core textbooks provide insufficient direction (Pesut, 2008), thus gaps in knowledge and care provision in this field could be exacerbated.

Spirituality in Contemporary Paradigms: An Integrative Review

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Monir Ramezani

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background: As two of the most prominent cultural components, spirituality and religion give sense to our human values, conducts, and experiences. The spiritual dimension is one of the four significant aspects of holistic care. However, the diversity of views has resulted in different interpretations of the reality of spirituality and its origins and consequences. Aim: This study aimed to examine the available approaches and paradigms in the realm of spirituality. Method: In the present integrative review, the initial search was performed in national and international databases, including Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, Sage, Medline, Wiley, SID, MagIran, IranMedex, and IranDoc, using the keyword, "spirituality", without considering any time limits. Articles relevant to the objectives of the study were then fully reviewed. Results: Since ancient times, spirituality has been sporadically discussed in human intellectual and artistic artifacts. This concept was expanded as an independent, systematic, and conscious movement since the second half of the 19th century in Europe, USA, and Canada. The three prominent approaches to spirituality include religious, secular, and holistic health perspectives. Implications for Practice: Despite the growing interest in research on spirituality, it is difficult to reach a unanimous decision about this concept. However, it should be noted that spiritual concerns cannot be disregarded, considering the holistic perspective to humanity as the building block of holistic nursing care. Overall, every patient is a unique human being whose spiritual needs are affected by his/her cultural beliefs and values.

The Context of Religious and Spiritual Care at the End of Life in Long-term Care Facilities.

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Hamilton, V Lee; Daaleman, Timothy P; Williams, Christianna S; Zimmerman, Sheryl

2009-01-01

Despite the increasing numbers of Americans who die in nursing homes (NHs) and residential care/assisted living (RC/AL) facilities, and the importance of religious and spiritual needs as one approaches death, little is known about how these needs are met for dying individuals in long-term care (LTC) institutional settings. This study compared receipt of religious and spiritual help in four types of LTC settings: NHs, smaller (facilities, traditional RC/AL facilities, and new-model RC/AL facilities. Data were also available for religious affiliation of the facilities, size, and provision of religious and hospice services. Controlling for such factors, the importance of religion/spirituality to the decedent was the strongest predictor of the decedent's receipt of spiritual help. In addition, new-model RC/AL facilities were significantly more likely to provide help for religious and spiritual needs of decedent residents than other RC/AL types, but did not differ significantly from NHs.

Frequency of Faith and Spirituality Discussion in Health Care.

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Bergamo, David; White, Dawn

2016-04-01

Faith and spirituality are important in the lives of many individuals, and therefore, many patients. This study was performed to determine whether faith and spirituality are active part of the healthcare field and patients' receipt of these sometimes delicate topics. The nuances of the concepts of faith, spirituality, and religion and their implications in the healthcare setting are discussed. Benefits and detriments of faith and spirituality are reviewed in terms of how they relate to the health of the patient and to the healthcare field. With the focus of healthcare shifting to holistic care, this conversation may be more necessary than ever in practice, yet it seems many providers are not discussing these matters with patients. The study analyzes whether healthcare providers are discussing these topics with patients and how the discussion is received or would be received by patients. Findings demonstrate the infrequency of the discussion regardless of the fact that the majority of patients consider themselves faithful or spiritual. This study was approved by the Clarkson University Institutional Review Board on June 18, 2104.

Spiritual well-being among outpatients with cancer receiving concurrent oncologic and palliative care.

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Rabow, Michael W; Knish, Sarah J

2015-04-01

Spiritual well-being is threatened by cancer, but its correlation with other illness symptoms and the efficacy of palliative care (PC) to ameliorate spiritual suffering are not well understood. We conducted a retrospective study using a convenience sample of oncology patients at a comprehensive cancer center who received concurrent oncologic and palliative care between 2008 and 2011 and completed ESAS, QUAL-E, and Steinhauser Spiritual well-being survey questions was conducted. Descriptive, correlation, and t test statistics. Eight hundred eighty-three patients surveyed had an average age of 65.6 years, with 54.1 % female, 69.3 % white, and 49.3 % married. Half (452, 51.2 %) had metastatic disease. Religious affiliation was reported as Christian by 20.3 %, Catholic by 18.7 %, and "none" by 39.0 %. Baseline spiritual well-being was not significantly correlated with age, gender, race, cancer stage, marital status, insurance provider, or having a religious affiliation. Greater spiritual well-being was correlated with greater quality of life (well-being (spiritual well-being and anxiety, depression, fatigue, and quality of life (R (2) = 0.677). Spiritual well-being improved comparing mean scores immediately prior to initial PC consultation with those at first follow-up (2.89 vs. 3.23 on a 1-5 scale, p = 0.005). Among patients with cancer receiving concurrent oncologic and palliative care, spiritual well-being was not associated with patient age, gender, or race, or disease stage. It was correlated with physical and emotional symptoms. Spiritual well-being scores improved from just prior to the initial PC consultation to just prior to the first PC follow-up visit.

Art, Objects, and Beautiful Stories: A "New" Approach to Spiritual Care.

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Smith, Aaron P B; Read, Julia E

2017-06-01

The use of story, and the use of art or various arts-based techniques have become popular in a number of helping professions, including spiritual care. There remains a gap in the literature, however, in which an approach comprised of both story and art or objects is explored. This paper addresses this gap by discussing the experience, theory, benefits, and technique of combining story and art or object-based techniques for the provision of spiritual care.

Increasing the Number of Outpatients Receiving Spiritual Assessment: A Pain and Palliative Care Service Quality Improvement Project.

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Gomez-Castillo, Blanca J; Hirsch, Rosemarie; Groninger, Hunter; Baker, Karen; Cheng, M Jennifer; Phillips, Jayne; Pollack, John; Berger, Ann M

2015-11-01

Spirituality is a patient need that requires special attention from the Pain and Palliative Care Service team. This quality improvement project aimed to provide spiritual assessment for all new outpatients with serious life-altering illnesses. Percentage of new outpatients receiving spiritual assessment (Faith, Importance/Influence, Community, Address/Action in care, psychosocial evaluation, chaplain consults) at baseline and postinterventions. Interventions included encouraging clinicians to incorporate adequate spiritual assessment into patient care and implementing chaplain covisits for all initial outpatient visits. The quality improvement interventions increased spiritual assessment (baseline vs. postinterventions): chaplain covisits (25.5% vs. 50%), Faith, Importance/Influence, Community, Address/Action in care completion (49% vs. 72%), and psychosocial evaluation (89% vs. 94%). Improved spiritual assessment in an outpatient palliative care clinic setting can occur with a multidisciplinary approach. This project also identifies data collection and documentation processes that can be targeted for improvement. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Patient Storytelling in the Classroom: A Memorable Way to Teach Spiritual Care.

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Garner, Shelby L

2016-01-01

Storytelling is an evidence-based teaching and learning strategy that engages students and promotes critical thinking. Although most nursing textbooks incorporate spiritual nursing care, the texts lack examples of how to tie evidence-based spiritual interventions to specific medical-suigical content. Stories told from the patient's perspective can communicate insights that nurses and students can use when planning spiritual carefor patients. Stories shared by patients with undergraduate nursing students were effective in promoting learning and offered concrete examples of supportive spiritual resources for patients.

Screening Patient Spirituality and Spiritual Needs in Oncology Nursing

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van Leeuwen, René; Schep-Akkerman, Annemiek; van Laarhoven, Hanneke W. M.

2013-01-01

Aim. To select 2 appropriate spiritual assessment tools and evaluate these by involving oncology nurses. Background. Spirituality is recognized as an important domain of cancer care. At admission, integration of spiritual assessment seems necessary. It is unclear what kind of spiritual assessment

Screening patient spirituality and spiritual needs in oncology nursing

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Leeuwen, R. van; Schep-Akkerman, A.E.; Laarhoven, H.W.M. van

2013-01-01

AIM.: To select 2 appropriate spiritual assessment tools and evaluate these by involving oncology nurses. BACKGROUND.: Spirituality is recognized as an important domain of cancer care. At admission, integration of spiritual assessment seems necessary. It is unclear what kind of spiritual assessment

African American Women Counselors, Wellness, and Spirituality

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Knowles, Debora; Bryant, Rhonda M.

2011-01-01

Given their tremendous professional responsibilities, professional counselors face daunting challenges to remaining healthy and avoiding role stress and overload. This article explores the intersection of race, gender, wellness, and spirituality in the self-care of African American women counselors. The authors give particular attention to…

What Impact Do Chaplains Have? A Pilot Study of Spiritual AIM for Advanced Cancer Patients in Outpatient Palliative Care.

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Kestenbaum, Allison; Shields, Michele; James, Jennifer; Hocker, Will; Morgan, Stefana; Karve, Shweta; Rabow, Michael W; Dunn, Laura B

2017-11-01

Spiritual care is integral to quality palliative care. Although chaplains are uniquely trained to provide spiritual care, studies evaluating chaplains' work in palliative care are scarce. The goals of this pre-post study, conducted among patients with advanced cancer receiving outpatient palliative care, were to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of chaplain-delivered spiritual care, utilizing the Spiritual Assessment and Intervention Model ("Spiritual AIM"), and to gather pilot data on Spiritual AIM's effects on spiritual well-being, religious and cancer-specific coping, and physical and psychological symptoms. Patients with advanced cancer (N = 31) who were receiving outpatient palliative care were assigned based on chaplains' and patients' outpatient schedules, to one of three professional chaplains for three individual Spiritual AIM sessions, conducted over the course of approximately six to eight weeks. Patients completed the following measures at baseline and post-intervention: Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, Steinhauser Spirituality, Brief RCOPE, Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual (FACIT-Sp-12), Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer (Mini-MAC), Patient Dignity Inventory, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (10 items), and Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory. From baseline to post-Spiritual AIM, significant increases were found on the FACIT-Sp-12 Faith subscale, the Mini-MAC Fighting Spirit subscale, and Mini-MAC Adaptive Coping factor. Two trends were observed, i.e., an increase in Positive religious coping on the Brief RCOPE and an increase in Fatalism (a subscale of the Mini-MAC). Spiritual AIM, a brief chaplain-led intervention, holds potential to address spiritual needs and religious and general coping in patients with serious illnesses. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

There be dragons: effects of unexplored religion on nurses' competence in spiritual care.

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Pesut, Barbara

2016-09-01

On ancient maps unexplored lands were simply labeled 'there be dragons' indicating the fear that attends the unknown. Despite three decades of theoretical and empirical work on spirituality in nursing, evidence still suggests that nurses do not feel competent to engage in spiritual care. In this paper I propose that one of the reasons for this is a theory-theory gap between religion and spirituality. Generalized anxiety about the role of religion in society has led to under-theorizing in nursing about religious care. As a result, when religion and spirituality overlap at the point of care, nurses are left without the substantive knowledge required for practice. Robust religious theorizing should include thick accounts of lived religion and integrative work that enables nurses to understand commonalities across religions that are relevant to practice. As a starting point to this integrative work, nurses can be introduced to the nature and lexicon of lived religion, religious perspectives on suffering, and religious reasoning that holds meaning and mystery in tension. Such an approach will better prepare them for the realities of practice where the complexities of spirituality and religion come to play. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Patient Reported Outcome Measure of Spiritual Care as Delivered by Chaplains.

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Snowden, Austyn; Telfer, Iain

2017-01-01

Chaplains are employed by health organizations around the world to support patients in recognizing and addressing their spiritual needs. There is currently no generalizable measure of the impact of these interventions and so the clinical and strategic worth of chaplaincy is difficult to articulate. This article introduces the Scottish PROM, an original five-item patient reported outcome measure constructed specifically to address this gap. It describes the validation process from its conceptual grounding in the spiritual care literature through face and content validity cycles. It shows that the Scottish PROM is internally consistent and unidimensional. Responses to the Scottish PROM show strong convergent validity with responses to the Warwick and Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, a generic well-being scale often used as a proxy for spiritual well-being. In summary, the Scottish PROM is fit for purpose. It measures the outcomes of spiritual care as delivered by chaplains in this study. This novel project introduces an essential and original breakthrough; the possibility of generalizable international chaplaincy research.

Existential and spiritual needs in mental health care: an ethical and holistic perspective.

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Koslander, Tiburtius; da Silva, António Barbosa; Roxberg, Asa

2009-03-01

This study illuminates how existential needs and spiritual needs are connected with health care ethics and individuals' mental health and well-being. The term existential needs is defined as the necessity of experiencing life as meaningful, whereas the term spiritual needs is defined as the need of deliverance from despair, guilt and/or sin, and of pastoral care. It discusses whether or not patients' needs are holistically addressed in Western health care systems that neglect patients' existential and spiritual needs, because of their biomedical view of Man which recognizes only patients' physical needs. It excludes a holistic health care which considers all needs, expressed by patients in treatment of mental illness. Addressing all needs is important for patients' improvement and recovery. For some patients, this is the only way to regain their mental health and well-being.

Religion, Spirituality and Speech-Language Pathology: A Viewpoint for Ensuring Patient-Centred Holistic Care.

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Mathisen, Bernice; Carey, Lindsay B; Carey-Sargeant, Christa L; Webb, Gwendalyn; Millar, CaraJane; Krikheli, Lilli

2015-12-01

This paper presents a viewpoint concerning the largely neglected clinical relevance of spirituality and religious belief in speech-language pathology (SLP) assessments, interventions and outcomes across the lifespan. An overview of the refereed SLP literature is presented with regard to religion and spirituality. It was found that while there is increasing research with regard to spirituality, health and well-being, there is very little specific to SLP. What is available and clinically relevant, generally relates to holistic care and/or cultural and linguistic diversity. Amidst the health care literature, however, there is a growing number of recommended instruments (for religious/spiritual screening) sensitive to intercultural and interfaith issues that are currently available to medical, nursing, allied health and chaplaincy practitioners. These instruments can also be of value to SLPs to ensure holistic assessments and interventions. It would seem timely for SLPs (and other allied health practitioners) to consider including spiritual screenings/assessments as part of their clinical practice so as to ensure appropriate holistic care. This would also mean undertaking research and including relevant education within tertiary institutions and professional development programs.

The Role of Social Workers in Spiritual Care to Facilitate Coping With Chronic Illness and Self-Determination in Advance Care Planning.

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Francoeur, Richard B; Burke, Nancy; Wilson, Alicia M

2016-01-01

Spiritual values and beliefs of patients and families influence resilience during chronic illness and shape patient choices during advance care planning. The spiritual needs of Baby Boomers will be more diverse than previous generations, in connection with the questioning, experimental mind-set of this group and the fact that it includes a higher proportion of immigrant populations outside the Judeo-Christian tradition. Social workers are trained explicitly to intervene with diverse populations and are well positioned to offer spiritual support in ways that do not necessarily conform to traditional religions. To the extent of their individual expertise and competence, social workers should assess and provide spiritual care to clients, including those who either are underserved or prefer not to seek assistance from clergy or chaplains because they feel alienated from religious institutions and representatives. They should also be aware of ethical dilemmas in consulting with spiritual care professionals in developing spiritual interventions. Social work education should address clients' humanistic and existential concerns, beliefs and behaviors of the major religions, and forms of nontraditional religious and spiritual experiences; it should also provide experiential opportunities for engaging with grief and earlier advance care planning. There should be attention to different theodical perspectives of the major religions regarding the problem of good and evil, which may preoccupy even clients who no longer participate in organized religion, because these unresolved existential issues may weaken client coping with chronic conditions and may diminish clarity and self-awareness for engaging authentically and effectively in advance care planning.

The association between spiritual well-being and burnout in intensive care unit nurses: A descriptive study.

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Kim, Hyun Sook; Yeom, Hye-Ah

2018-06-01

To describe the spiritual well-being and burnout of intensive care unit nurses and examine the relationship between these factors. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The participants were 318 intensive care unit recruited from three university hospitals in South Korea. The survey questionnaire included demographic information, work-related characteristics and end-of-life care experience, along with the Spiritual Well-Being Scale and Burnout Questionnaire. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA with Scheffé test and a multiple regression analysis. The burnout level among intensive care unit nurses was 3.15 out of 5. A higher level of burnout was significantly associated with younger age, lower education level, single marital status, having no religion, less work experience and previous end-of-life care experience. Higher levels of spiritual well-being were associated with lower levels of burnout, even after controlling for the general characteristics in the regression model. Intensive care unit nurses experience a high level of burnout in general. Increased spiritual well-being might reduce burnout among intensive care unit nurses. Younger and less experienced nurses should receive more attention as a vulnerable group with lower spirituality and greater burnout in intensive care unit settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spiritual needs in health care settings: a qualitative meta-synthesis of clients' perspectives.

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Hodge, David R; Horvath, Violet E

2011-10-01

Spiritual needs often emerge in the context of receiving health or behavioral health services. Yet, despite the prevalence and salience of spiritual needs in service provision, clients often report their spiritual needs are inadequately addressed. In light of research suggesting that most social workers have received minimal training in identifying spiritual needs, this study uses a qualitative meta-synthesis (N=11 studies) to identify and describe clients'perceptions of their spiritual needs in health care settings. The results revealed six interrelated themes: (1) meaning, purpose, and hope; (2) relationship with God; (3) spiritual practices; (4) religious obligations; (5) interpersonal connection; and (6) professional staff interactions. The implications of the findings are discussed as they intersect social work practice and education.

Sacred spaces in public places: religious and spiritual plurality in health care.

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Reimer-Kirkham, Sheryl; Sharma, Sonya; Pesut, Barb; Sawatzky, Richard; Meyerhoff, Heather; Cochrane, Marie

2012-09-01

Several intriguing developments mark the role and expression of religion and spirituality in society in recent years. In what were deemed secular societies, flows of increased sacralization (variously referred to as 'new', 'alternative', 'emergent' and 'progressive' spiritualities) and resurgent globalizing religions (sometimes with fundamentalist expressions) are resulting in unprecedented plurality. These shifts are occurring in conjunction with increasing ethnic diversity associated with global migration, as well as other axes of difference within contemporary society. Democratic secular nations such as Canada are challenged to achieve social cohesion in the face of growing religious, spiritual and ethnic diversity. These challenges are evident in the high-paced, demanding arena of Health care. Here, religious and spiritual plurality enter in, sometimes resulting in conflict between medical services and patients' beliefs, other times provoking uncertainties on the part of healthcare professionals about what to do with their own religiously or spiritually grounded values and beliefs. In this paper, we present selected findings from a 3-year study that examined the negotiation of religious and spiritual pluralism in Health care. Our focus is on the themes of 'sacred' and 'place', exploring how the sacred - that which is attributed as special and set apart as it pertains to the divine, transcendence, God or higher power - takes form in social and material spaces in hospitals. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Spiritual Assessment within Clinical Interventions Focused on Quality of Life Assessment in Palliative Care: A Secondary Analysis of a Systematic Review

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Gianluca Catania

2016-03-01

Full Text Available One of the most crucial palliative care challenges is in determining how patients’ needs are defined and assessed. Although physical and psychological needs are commonly documented in patient’s charts, spiritual needs are less frequently reported. The aim of this review was to determine which explicit, longitudinal documentation of spiritual concerns would sufficiently affect clinical care to alleviate spiritual distress or promote spiritual wellbeing. A secondary analysis of a systematic review originally aimed at appraising the effectiveness of complex interventions focused on quality of life in palliative care was conducted. Five databases were searched for articles reporting interventions focused on QoL including at least two or more QoL dimensions. A narrative synthesis was performed to synthesize findings. In total, 10 studies were included. Only three studies included spiritual wellbeing assessment. Spirituality tools used to assess spiritual wellbeing were different between studies: Hospital QoL Index 14; Spiritual Needs Inventory; Missoula-Vitas QoL Index; and the Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease-Cancer. Only one study reported a healthcare professional’s session training in the use of the QoL tool. Two out of three studies showed in participants an improvement in spiritual wellbeing, but changes in spiritual wellbeing scores were not significant. Overall patients receiving interventions focused on QoL assessment experienced both improvements in their QoL and in their spiritual needs. Although spiritual changes were not significant, the results provide evidence that a spiritual need exists and that spiritual care should be appropriately planned and delivered. Spiritual needs assessment precedes spiritual caring. It is essential that interventions focused on QoL assessment in palliative care include training on how to conduct a spiritual assessment and appropriate interventions to be offered to patients to address their

Life perceptions of patients receiving palliative care and experiencing psycho-social-spiritual healing.

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Li, Lingsheng; Sloan, Danetta H; Mehta, Ambereen K; Willis, Gordon; Weaver, Meaghann S; Berger, Ann C

2017-07-01

It is important to identify, from the patients' perspectives, the different factors that contribute toward psycho-social-spiritual healing. This was a qualitative study that took place at a large research center, an underserved clinic, and a community hospital. We used a needs assessment questionnaire and open-ended questions to assess the constituents of psycho-social-spiritual healing: (I) how previous life experiences affected patients' present situations in dealing with their illnesses; (II) barriers to palliative care, and (III) benefits of palliative care. Of a total of 30 participants from 3 different study sites, 24 (80%) were receiving inpatient or outpatient palliative care at a research center. Thirteen (43%) participants were female, 10 (33%) were Black/African American, and 16 (53%) reported being on disability. While the initial shock of the diagnosis made participants feel unprepared for their illnesses, many looked to role models, previous work experiences, and spiritual as well as religious support as sources of strength and coping mechanisms. Barriers to palliative care were identified as either external (lack of proper resources) or internal (symptom barriers and perceived self-limitations). The feeling of "being seen/being heard" was perceived by many participants as the most beneficial aspect of palliative care. The needs assessment questionnaire and open-ended questions presented in this study may be used in clinical settings to better help patients achieve psycho-social-spiritual healing through palliative care and to help clinicians learn about the person behind the patient.

Finding Paradise Within: How Spirituality Protects Palliative Care Clients and Caregivers From Depression.

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Penman, Joy

2017-06-01

The aims of this article are to explore the experience of depression among palliative care clients and caregivers, describe the strategies they use in coping with depression, and clarify the role of spirituality in preventing and/or overcoming depression. This article discusses an aspect of the findings of a larger doctoral study that explored the nature of spirituality and spiritual engagement from the viewpoint of individuals with life-limiting conditions and their caregivers. van Manen's phenomenology was used in the study. The data generated from the doctoral study were subjected to secondary analysis to uncover the experience of depression. The methodology underpinning the secondary analysis was phenomenology also by van Manen. Fourteen clients and caregivers from across regional and rural South Australia informed the study. Data collection involved in-depth nonstructured home-based interviews that were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The findings highlighted relate to participants succumbing to depression, but having spiritual beliefs and practices helped them cope. One of the most insightful understanding was the role spirituality played in protecting individuals from depression, encapsulated in the theme "finding paradise within." Spirituality, understood from a religious or secular perspective, must be embedded in palliative care as it assisted in preventing and overcoming depression.

Nursing and spirituality

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Raphael de Brito Pedrão

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To evaluate the spiritual well-being of nurses; to appraise their opinions as to the importance of offering patients spiritual assistance, and to verify whether nurses received any specific type of preparation during their professional training for giving spiritual assistance to patients. Methods: This is an exploratory and descriptive study, carried out with a sample of 30 nurses who worked at the Stepdown Unit and Oncology Unit of Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, using the application of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWS and a questionnaire prepared by the authors. Results: On the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, 76.6% of nurses produced positive scores. On the Existential Well-Being subscale, 80% had positive scores, and on the Religious Well-Being subscale, 76.6% had positive scores. On the SWBS, the general average score was 107.26, and for the Existential and Religious ones, the average scores were 54.4 and 53.2, respectively. Most nurses responded affirmatively as to the importance of offering patients spiritual assistance, and 40% of nurses offered as rationale “to provide well-being and comfort to the patient”. Most nurses reported not having received professional training for giving spiritual assistance to patients in any of the nursing courses they had done. Conclusions: The results indicate the need for professional training and/or continued education courses in nursing to extend the reflection and discussion on spirituality and spiritual assistance to patients.

The circle of the soul: the role of spirituality in health care.

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Moss, Donald

2002-12-01

This paper examines the critical attitude of behavioral professionals toward spiritual phenomena, and the current growing openness toward a scientific study of spirituality and its effects on health. Health care professionals work amidst sickness and suffering, and become immersed in the struggles of suffering persons for meaning and spiritual direction. Biofeedback and neurofeedback training can facilitate relaxation, mental stillness, and the emergence of spiritual experiences. A growing body of empirical studies documents largely positive effects of religious involvement on health. The effects of religion and spirituality on health are diverse, ranging from such tangible and easily understood phenomena as a reduction of health-risk behaviors in church-goers, to more elusive phenomena such as the distant effects of prayer on health and physiology. Psychophysiological methods may prove useful in identifying specific physiological mechanisms mediating such effects. Spirituality is also a dimension in much of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and the CAM arena may offer a window of opportunity for biofeedback practice.

How do Australian palliative care nurses address existential and spiritual concerns? Facilitators, barriers and strategies.

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Keall, Robyn; Clayton, Josephine M; Butow, Phyllis

2014-11-01

To investigate the facilitators, barriers and strategies that Australian palliative care nurses identify in providing existential and spiritual care for patients with life-limiting illnesses. Palliative care aims to be holistic, incorporating all domains of personhood, but spiritual/existential domain issues are often undertreated. Lack of time and skills and concerns for what you may uncover hamper care provision. A qualitative study through semistructured interviews. We interviewed 20 palliative care nurses from a cross section of area of work, place of work, years of experience, spiritual beliefs and importance of those beliefs within their lives. Questions focused on their current practices of existential and spiritual care, identification of facilitators of, barriers to and strategies for provision of that care. Their responses were transcribed and subjected to thematic analysis. The nurses' interviews yielded several themes including development of the nurse-patient relationship (14/20 nurses), good communication skills and examples of questions they use to 'create openings' to facilitate care. Barriers were identified as follows: lack of time (11/20 nurses), skills, privacy and fear of what you may uncover, unresolved symptoms and differences in culture or belief. Novel to our study, the nurses offered strategies that included the following: undertaking further education in this area, being self-aware and ensuring the setting is conducive to in-depth conversations and interactions and documentation and/or interdisciplinary sharing for continuity of care. Palliative care nurses are well placed to provide existential and spiritual care to patients with the primary facilitator being the nurse-patient relationship, the primary barrier being lack of time and the primary strategy being undertaking further education in this area. These findings could be used for nurse-support programmes, undergraduate or graduate studies or communication workshop for nurses.

Spiritual issues and quality of life assessment in cancer care.

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Efficace, Fabio; Marrone, Robert

2002-11-01

Being diagnosed with cancer forces most human beings to face their own death. The comfortable sense of both invulnerability and immortality is shattered, making the patient thoroughly aware that life is finite and limited. Approaching death, cancer patients commonly embark on an inner journey involving a search for meaning as well as a reordering of priorities involving physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Although interest in the role of spirituality, relating to both adjustment to cancer and the overall quality of life of cancer patients, has increased in recent years, most of the commonly used quality of life (QOL) instruments in oncology typically do not include spiritual issues. In this article, it is argued that assessing QOL effectively should involve all aspects of the personality, including mind, body, and spirit as well. This article also reviews recent studies, which have shown that spiritual well-being, although a many-sided and difficult construct to define, is closely related to the QOL of cancer patients. It is also suggested that further research is needed to understand how the new focus on spirituality can contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of patient's QOL in cancer care.

EFFECT OF SPIRITUAL NURSING CARE ON THE LEVEL OF ANXIETY IN PATIENTS WITH STROKE

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Bernadeta Trihandini

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Background: Anxiety in stroke patients occurs as a normal reaction to stress with life changes; however, when it becomes excessive, It becomes disabling. Effort to deal with anxiety is needed and spiritual approach nursing care is considered useful in caring patients with stroke. Objective: To examine the effect of spiritual nursing care on anxiety in stroke patients in the inpatient ward. Methods: This study used a quasy experimental design with pretest-postest control group. Thirty respondents were selected using consecutive sampling, which 15 respondents assigned in the experiment and control group. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale was used to measure anxiety. Data were analyzed using paired t-test and independent t-test. Results: The results showed that the mean level of anxiety in the experiment group before intervention was 29.33 and decreased to 9 after intervention, while in the control group the mean level of anxiety before intervention was 29.47 and decreased to 17.73 after intervention. Paired t-test obtained p-value 0.000 (<0.05, which indicated that there was a significant effect of spiritual nursing care on anxiety levels in patients with stroke. Conclusion: Spiritual nursing care could reduce anxiety in patients with stroke.

Attitudes of stakeholders and policymakers in the healthcare system towards the provision of spiritual care in Israel.

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Bentur, Netta; Resnitzky, Shirli; Sterne, Abram

2010-06-01

Spiritual-care services and chaplaincy in the medical system are provided to people with serious illnesses, aiming to help them achieve moments of peace and acceptance while contending with illness or facing death. Chaplaincy has been available in Europe and in the U.S. for many decades, but such programs started to develop in Israel only few years ago. This paper examines the attitudes of stakeholders, directors and policymakers in the healthcare system towards the provision of spiritual care and the development of such programs. We conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews with 16 individuals in the healthcare system. All the interviews were transcribed in full and analyzed using qualitative study methods. Most of the interviewees had little knowledge of spiritual care and many mentioned barriers and challenges to its implementation in the healthcare system. These issues include: lack of knowledge and understanding about spiritual care precluding impeded their ability to evaluate its suitability for the healthcare services; confusion between spiritual care and religion; concerns about potential conflict with other professionals, especially social workers; barriers to funding of the new services; barriers to the successful integration of new ideas; and concerns about formal training and accreditation of the new profession. Spiritual care has begun to take root in Israel's health system, but it is still at an early stage of development. Implementation must continue apace and careful consideration must be given to optimizing its acceptance by the establishment. Copyright (c) 2010. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Spirituality for democracy and social cohesion versus the spirituality of money

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Ulrich Duchrow

2014-08-01

Full Text Available We live in a life-killing global system, and thus, we are called by our own biblical basis � re-read in the spirit of other than Western traditions � to search for life-giving alternatives and to develop democracy accordingly. However, this is not a geographical exercise. We cannot count on South Africa as a place where Ubuntu is practiced or on South Korea living in communities according to Sangsaeng. The reason is that Western civilisation, with its own spirituality, has permeated all corners of the earth. My thesis is that this is the spirituality of money; biblically speaking, of Mammon. Before we can talk about a spirituality for democracy and social cohesion, we need to address the spirituality of the status quo in order to understand what the alternative could be. The issue gets complicated by the new insight that Western civilisation has deep roots in history; in fact a history of almost 3000 years. Only by looking at this history can we really understand how money did not only change socio-economic and political structures but also hearts, minds and the spirituality of people.Intradisciplinary and/or�interdisciplinary�implications: This article challenges the normal Western assumption that democracy is but a political issue of voting every 4 or 5 years. Instead it shows that real democracy is linked to economic and social justice, as well as to deep cultural and spiritual roots. Authors should carefully identify the contextual perspective they challenge, identifying the potential results of the proposed research and whether it calls for a change in traditional discourse as well as whether such a change is possible. Key insights into the research results and its future function should be revealed.Today we are faced with life-killing civilization, manifested in economic injustice, ecological destruction, the threat of Empire, and the escalation of religious conflicts. This compels us to urgently explore the possibility of life-giving

Matters of spirituality at the end of life in the pediatric intensive care unit.

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Robinson, Mary R; Thiel, Mary Martha; Backus, Meghan M; Meyer, Elaine C

2006-09-01

Our objective with this study was to identify the nature and the role of spirituality from the parents' perspective at the end of life in the PICU and to discern clinical implications. A qualitative study based on parental responses to open-ended questions on anonymous, self-administered questionnaires was conducted at 3 PICUs in Boston, Massachusetts. Fifty-six parents whose children had died in PICUs after the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies participated. Overall, spiritual/religious themes were included in the responses of 73% (41 of 56) of parents to questions about what had been most helpful to them and what advice they would offer to others at the end of life. Four explicitly spiritual/religious themes emerged: prayer, faith, access to and care from clergy, and belief in the transcendent quality of the parent-child relationship that endures beyond death. Parents also identified several implicitly spiritual/religious themes, including insight and wisdom; reliance on values; and virtues such as hope, trust, and love. Many parents drew on and relied on their spirituality to guide them in end-of-life decision-making, to make meaning of the loss, and to sustain them emotionally. Despite the dominance of technology and medical discourse in the ICU, many parents experienced their child's end of life as a spiritual journey. Staff members, hospital chaplains, and community clergy are encouraged to be explicit in their hospitality to parents' spirituality and religious faith, to foster a culture of acceptance and integration of spiritual perspectives, and to work collaboratively to deliver spiritual care.

A critical analysis of scales to measure the attitude of nurses toward spiritual care and the frequency of spiritual nursing care activities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Garssen, Bert; Ebenau, Anne Frederieke; Visser, Anja; Uwland, Nicoline; Groot, Marieke

Quantitative studies have assessed nurses' attitudes toward and frequency of spiritual care [SC] and which factors are of influence on this attitude and frequency. However, we had doubts about the construct validity of the scales used in these studies. Our objective was to evaluate scales measuring

Creating conditions for good nursing by attending to the spiritual.

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Biro, Anne L

2012-12-01

To note similarities, differences, and gaps in the literature on good nursing and spiritual care. Good nursing care is essential for meeting patient health needs. With growing recognition of the role of spirituality in health, understanding spiritual care as it relates to good nursing is important, especially as spiritual care has been recognized as the most neglected area of nursing care. Nursing research, reports and discussion articles from a variety of countries were reviewed on the topics of good nursing, spiritual care and spirituality. A nurse's spirituality and the nurse-patient relationship are integral to spiritual care and good nursing. There are many commonalities between good nursing and spiritual care. Personal attributes of the nurse are described in similar terms in research on spiritual care and good nursing. Professional attributes common to good nursing and spiritual care are the nurse-patient relationship, assessment skills and communication skills. Good nursing through spiritual care is facilitated by personal spirituality, training in spiritual care and a culture that implements changes supportive of spiritual care. Further research is needed to address limitations in the scope of literature. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Spiritual care competence for contemporary nursing practice: A quantitative exploration of the guidance provided by fundamental nursing textbooks.

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Timmins, Fiona; Neill, Freda; Murphy, Maryanne; Begley, Thelma; Sheaf, Greg

2015-11-01

Spirituality is receiving unprecedented attention in the nursing literature. Both the volume and scope of literature on the topic is expanding, and it is clear that this topic is of interest to nurses. There is consensus that the spiritual required by clients receiving health ought to be an integrated effort across the health care team. Although undergraduate nurses receive some education on the topic, this is ad hoc and inconsistent across universities. Textbooks are clearly a key resource in this area however the extent to which they form a comprehensive guide for nursing students and nurses is unclear. This study provides a hitherto unperformed analysis of core nursing textbooks to ascertain spirituality related content. 543 books were examined and this provides a range of useful information about inclusions and omissions in this field. Findings revealed that spirituality is not strongly portrayed as a component of holistic care and specific direction for the provision of spiritual care is lacking. Fundamental textbooks used by nurses and nursing students ought to inform and guide integrated spiritual care and reflect a more holistic approach to nursing care. The religious and/or spiritual needs of an increasingly diverse community need to be taken seriously within scholarly texts so that this commitment to individual clients' needs can be mirrored in practice. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Developing and testing a spiritual care questionnaire in the Iranian context.

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Iranmanesh, Sedigheh; Tirgari, Batool; Cheraghi, Mohammad Ali

2012-12-01

As most research exploring nurses' perceptions on the topic of spiritual care was conducted in Western countries, these findings may not be applicable in Iran because of cultural and health system differences. Therefore, a new survey instrument was developed for the Iranian context. The study was conducted in two steps: (1) development and validation of items for perception scale and (2) distribution of the questionnaire among nursing students to determine scale reliability and construct validity. The preliminary scale consisted of 50 items designed to measure the participants' perception of spiritual care. Construct validity of the scale was examined on the remaining 33 items. On interpretation of the items, the following four components were identified: (1) meeting patient as a being in meaning and hope, (2) meeting patient as a being in relationship, (3) meeting patient as a religious being, and (4) meeting patients as a being with autonomy. The results in this paper showed that preserving dignity in the nurses' practice meant getting involved in interpersonal caring relationships, with respect for the involved peoples' religious beliefs and their autonomy. Proper education and professionally led supervision with reflection on past and recent experiences may develop student nurses' and nurses' perceptions as well as their attitudes toward spiritual care and to achieve a realistic view of the profession.

'Peace' and 'life worthwhile' as measures of spiritual well-being in African palliative care: a mixed-methods study.

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Selman, Lucy; Speck, Peter; Gysels, Marjolein; Agupio, Godfrey; Dinat, Natalya; Downing, Julia; Gwyther, Liz; Mashao, Thandi; Mmoledi, Keletso; Moll, Tony; Sebuyira, Lydia Mpanga; Ikin, Barbara; Higginson, Irene J; Harding, Richard

2013-06-10

Patients with incurable, progressive disease receiving palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa experience high levels of spiritual distress with a detrimental impact on their quality of life. Locally validated measurement tools are needed to identify patients' spiritual needs and evaluate and improve spiritual care, but up to now such tools have been lacking in Africa. The African Palliative Care Association (APCA) African Palliative Outcome Scale (POS) contains two items relating to peace and life worthwhile. We aimed to determine the content and construct validity of these items as measures of spiritual wellbeing in African palliative care populations. The study was conducted at five palliative care services, four in South Africa and one in Uganda. The mixed-methods study design involved: (1) cognitive interviews with 72 patients, analysed thematically to explore the items' content validity, and (2) quantitative data collection (n = 285 patients) using the POS and the Spirit 8 to assess construct validity. (1) Peace was interpreted according to the themes 'perception of self and world', 'relationship to others', 'spiritual beliefs' and 'health and healthcare'. Life worthwhile was interpreted in relation to 'perception of self and world', 'relationship to others' and 'identity'. (2) Conceptual convergence and divergence were also evident in the quantitative data: there was moderate correlation between peace and Spirit 8 spiritual well-being (r = 0.46), but little correlation between life worthwhile and Spirit 8 spiritual well-being (r = 0.18) (both p spiritual well-being in African palliative care. Peace and life worthwhile are brief and simple enough to be integrated into routine practice and can be used to measure this important but neglected outcome in this population.

Quality of life and religious-spiritual coping in palliative cancer care patients.

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Matos, Ticiane Dionizio de Sousa; Meneguin, Silmara; Ferreira, Maria de Lourdes da Silva; Miot, Helio Amante

2017-07-10

to compare the quality of life and religious-spiritual coping of palliative cancer care patients with a group of healthy participants; assess whether the perceived quality of life is associated with the religious-spiritual coping strategies; identify the clinical and sociodemographic variables related to quality of life and religious-spiritual coping. cross-sectional study involving 96 palliative outpatient care patient at a public hospital in the interior of the state of São Paulo and 96 healthy volunteers, using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Brief Religious-Spiritual Coping scale. 192 participants were interviewed who presented good quality of life and high use of Religious-Spiritual Coping. Greater use of negative Religious-Spiritual Coping was found in Group A, as well as lesser physical and psychological wellbeing and quality of life. An association was observed between quality of life scores and Religious-Spiritual Coping (pestrategias de coping religioso-espiritual; identificar las variables clínicas y sociodemográficas relacionadas a la calidad de vida y al coping religioso-espiritual. estudio transversal, desarrollado con 96 pacientes de ambulatorio de cuidados paliativos en un hospital público en el interior del Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, y 96 voluntarios sanos, mediante cuestionario utilizando datos sociodemográficos, el McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire y el Coping Religioso-Espiritual-Breve. fueron entrevistados 192 participantes que presentaron buena calidad de vida y alta utilización del Coping Religioso-Espiritual. Fue encontrado mayor uso de Coping Religioso-Espiritual negativo en el Grupo A, y también menor bienestar físico, psicológico y de calidad de vida. Fue observada asociación entre los scores de calidad de vida y Coping Religioso-Espiritual (pestrategia de enfrentamiento en pacientes bajo cuidados paliativos.

Attachment theory and spirituality: two threads converging in palliative care?

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Loetz, Cécile; Müller, Jakob; Frick, Eckhard; Petersen, Yvonne; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Mauer, Christine

2013-01-01

The aim of this paper is to discuss and explore the interrelation between two concepts, attachment theory and the concept of spirituality, which are important to palliative care and to founding a multivariate understanding of the patient's needs and challenges. Both concepts have been treated by research in diverse and multiform ways, but little effort has yet been made to integrate them into one theoretical framework in reference to the palliative context. In this paper, we begin an attempt to close this scientific gap theoretically. Following the lines of thought in this paper, we assume that spirituality can be conceptualized as an adequate response of a person's attachment pattern to the peculiarity of the palliative situation. Spirituality can be seen both as a recourse to securely based relationships and as an attempt to explore the ultimate unknown, the mystery of one's own death. Thus, spirituality in the palliative context corresponds to the task of attachment behavior: to transcend symbiosis while continuing bonds and thus to explore the unknown environment independently and without fear. Spiritual activity is interpreted as a human attachment behavior option that receives special quality and importance in the terminal stage of life. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed in the final section of the paper.

PROMOTING PSYCHO-SOCIAL-SPIRITUAL RESPONSE IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS THROUGH APLICATION ON SELF CARE MANAGEMENT MODUL

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Kusnanto Kusnanto

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Diabetes mellitus was a kind of incurable chronic disease that actually manageable. The global prevalence tends to increase due to less self management of the disease and the impact of it was severe health condition. There were so many interventions implemented but failed to give optimal improvement in patient’s condition and there are so many DM patients have insufficient ability to manage their own disease. Patients need to have knowledge, skills, and self confident to be able to manage their disease. Patient’s self-management depends on patient’s education, empowerment, and self monitoring in evaluating their self-care management. The purpose of this research was promoting patient’s psychological, social, and spiritual conditions through Self Care Management. Improvement in psychological, social, and spiritual conditions in patients with DM will lead to better level of blood glucose and HbA1C. Method: Patient newly diagnose with Type 2 DM at Puskesmas Kebonsari was selected with purposive sampling and divided into two groups. Each group contains 25 patients. Intervention group was given Self Diabetes Management Module. Before and after intervention patient was given Questionnaire. The data then analyzed using Student-T test, McNemar and Chi-Square. Result: The result of this research showed patient have constructive coping, increase interpersonal relation. Patients also have better acceptance about the disease and involve in its management. Discussion: Self Care Management Module promotes psychological, social, and spiritual conditions in patients with type 2 DM.

Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Mental Health Care, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

OpenAIRE

René Hefti

2011-01-01

Integrating spirituality into mental health care, psychiatry and psychotherapy is still controversial, albeit a growing body of evidence is showing beneficial effects and a real need for such integration. In this review, past and recent research as well as evidence from the integrative concept of a Swiss clinic is summarized. Religious coping is highly prevalent among patients with psychiatric disorders. Surveys indicate that 70–80% use religious or spiritual beliefs and activities to cope wi...

An exploration of how spiritual nursing care is applied in clinical nursing practice

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Lydia V. Monareng

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Spiritual nursing care is a significant concept for nurses as they are expected to provide holistic care to patients. Many nurses have difficulty to understand and integrate it into practice and consequently neglect this aspect of care. The study was conducted to explore and describe how professional nurses provide spiritual care to patients. A generic qualitative, explorative and descriptive study was conducted based on Symbolic Interactionism as the philosophical base. The population comprised professional nurses from a public hospital. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling methods. Data were collected through the use of individual, focus group interviews and observation. Data analysis methods utilised included the NUD*IST computer program, coding, constant comparison method and Tesch’s guidelines on data analysis. Findings revealed that nurses struggled to conceptualise spiritual nursing care and to differentiate it from emotional, social or psychological care. However, prayer with or for patients and singing spiritual songs had the highest count of interventions perceived to be effective. Recommendations suggest that the scope of practice and curriculum of training of nurses be reviewed to consider how spiritual nursing care can be evidenced and realised both in the classroom and in the clinical setting. Spiritual nursing care is still a neglected and seemingly complex component of patient care. However, the scientific worldview practices, beliefs and insufficient statutory endorsement of such care hamper its realisation in practice. Geestelike verpleegsorg is ’n belangrike konsep omdat van verpleegkundiges verwag word om pasiënte holisties te versorg. Baie verpleegkundiges vind dié begrip en die integrering daarvan problematies en verwaardeloos gevolglik hierdie aspek van sorg. Die studie ondersoek en beskryf die mate waartoe verpleegkundiges geestelike sorg aan pasiënte verleen. ’n Basiese

A Thematic Literature Review: The Importance of Providing Spiritual Care for End-of-Life Patients Who Have Experienced Transcendence Phenomena.

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Broadhurst, Kathleen; Harrington, Ann

2016-11-01

The purpose of this review was to investigate within the literature the link between transcendent phenomena and peaceful death. The objectives were firstly to acknowledge the importance of such experiences and secondly to provide supportive spiritual care to dying patients. Information surrounding the aforementioned concepts is underreported in the literature. The following 4 key themes emerged: spiritual comfort; peaceful, calm death; spiritual transformation; and unfinished business The review established the importance of transcendence phenomena being accepted as spiritual experiences by health care professionals. Nevertheless, health care professionals were found to struggle with providing spiritual care to patients who have experienced them. Such phenomena are not uncommon and frequently result in peaceful death. Additionally, transcendence experiences of dying patients often provide comfort to the bereaved, assisting them in the grieving process. © The Author(s) 2015.

Attachment Theory and Spirituality: Two Threads Converging in Palliative Care?

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Cécile Loetz

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to discuss and explore the interrelation between two concepts, attachment theory and the concept of spirituality, which are important to palliative care and to founding a multivariate understanding of the patient’s needs and challenges. Both concepts have been treated by research in diverse and multiform ways, but little effort has yet been made to integrate them into one theoretical framework in reference to the palliative context. In this paper, we begin an attempt to close this scientific gap theoretically. Following the lines of thought in this paper, we assume that spirituality can be conceptualized as an adequate response of a person’s attachment pattern to the peculiarity of the palliative situation. Spirituality can be seen both as a recourse to securely based relationships and as an attempt to explore the ultimate unknown, the mystery of one’s own death. Thus, spirituality in the palliative context corresponds to the task of attachment behavior: to transcend symbiosis while continuing bonds and thus to explore the unknown environment independently and without fear. Spiritual activity is interpreted as a human attachment behavior option that receives special quality and importance in the terminal stage of life. Implications for clinical practice and research are discussed in the final section of the paper.

Transcultural spirituality: the spiritual journey of hospitalized patients with schizophrenia in Taiwan.

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Yang, Chun-Tien; Narayanasamy, Aru; Chang, Sung-Ling

2012-02-01

The aim of this study was to explore how hospitalization and the diagnosis of schizophrenia have an impact on Taiwanese patients' spiritual life. Psychiatric nurses tend to construe patients' spiritual issues as pathological problems and consequently are reluctant to address patient's spirituality, which results in spirituality being overlooked in mental illness. An individual's spiritual journey is dependent upon their cultural background and beliefs; however, the professional's preconceived ideas suppress the voice of patients with schizophrenia to share their experiences of their spiritual journey. The lack of research exploring spirituality in mental illness in Taiwan means that spiritual care is overlooked in practice. This study sets out to explore spirituality from the perspectives of patients in two mental hospitals in Taiwan. Using a qualitative approach, 22 long-term hospitalized patients diagnosed with schizophrenia were interviewed. Several themes from the data were identified using Ritchie and Spencer's (1994) five stages analytical framework. The study was carried out from 2006 to 2008. Patients revealed spiritual distress as a consequence of prolonged hospitalization. They used referents consistent with traditional Chinese philosophical perspectives derived from Taoism and Confucianism to describe various features of their spiritual distress and their longing for spiritual revival, transcendence and to be accepted as normal persons. In this age of globalization, nurses need to be fully cognisant of the cultural aspects of patients to respond to a mental health patient's spirituality. Clinical and educational guidelines and policies could be developed for spiritual care in Taiwan. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Nurses' Experiences of Spiritual Communication with Seriously III Children.

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Ferrell, Betty; Wittenberg, Elaine; Battista, Vanessa; Walker, Gay

2016-11-01

The goal of this study was to explore nurse experiences in communication with children about spiritual topics in order to develop training in this area. Although spiritual care is essential in pediatric palliative care, few providers receive training about communication with ill children about spirituality. Researchers developed a brief survey to prompt nurses to reflect on pediatric palliative care experiences that included spiritual discussions. Nurses attending training courses voluntarily submitted stories. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed by members of the research team, consisting of two researchers with expertise in palliative care, spirituality, and communication and two expert pediatric palliative care clinicians. Nurses' spiritual conversations with children revealed that children question God and the reason for their illness, have a desire to talk about the afterlife as a way of understanding their limited lifespan, and to share descriptions of an afterlife, in these cases described as heaven. Nurses conveyed the importance of being present and engaging in spiritual communication with children. Communication training is needed and should prepare providers to respond to a child's spiritual questioning, assist parents when the child initiates discussion about the afterlife, and help parent and child understand the spiritual meaning of their illness. Chaplains serve as spiritual care experts and can help train nurses to screen for spiritual distress, have greater competence in spiritual communication, and to collaborate with chaplains in care. Quality palliative care is incomplete without attention to spiritual care.

The provision of spiritual and pastoral care following stillbirth in Ireland: a mixed methods study.

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Nuzum, Daniel; Meaney, Sarah; O'Donoghue, Keelin

2016-06-01

The death of a baby is recognised as one of the most difficult bereavements with life-long impact for parents. How bereaved parents are cared for influences their grief journey. Optimal holistic care is provided when the physical, emotional, spiritual and social needs of parents are attended to. This study reviewed how spiritual care is provided to bereaved parents following stillbirth in maternity units in Ireland and the impact of stillbirth on healthcare chaplains. This was a mixed methods study using semistructured qualitative interviews with hospital chaplains in Irish maternity units. Quantitative data about the provision of services to bereaved parents were collated from the interviews. Qualitative data were analysed thematically to identify key themes. 20 chaplains from 17 units participated in the study (85% of Irish maternity units). 12 chaplains (60%) are formally accredited chaplains; only one has received specialist training in perinatal bereavement care. 11 chaplains (55%) provide follow-up bereavement care. Seven chaplains (35%) did not feel part of the multidisciplinary team. The main themes that emerged were the impact of stillbirth, suffering and the challenge to faith creating inner conflict and doubt. The provision of spiritual care following stillbirth in Ireland is diverse. Spiritual care in this specialised area by chaplains who are not professionally trained and accredited potentially impacts quality and depth of care. Chaplains experience considerable impact and challenge to personal faith and belief as they provide care. Recommendations are made for ongoing education and greater support for chaplains. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Spirituality in education

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Kirsi Tirri

2009-01-01

Full Text Available In this article the concept of spirituality in the educational framework is discussed. The concepts of religion and spirituality are compared. The psychological view of spirituality is presented with a new suggested intelligence type: spiritual intelligence. The educational view emphasizes spiritual sensitivity as a universal human ability that needs to be developed through education. The sociological view of spirituality explores it as an expression of postsecular religiosity. Empirical studies indicate that an increasing number of people­ now prefer to call themselves ‘spiritual’ rather than ‘religious’. This trend seems to be more present in some European countries, for example, in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Finland. Empirical studies on spirituality are reviewed and discussed. A special emphasis is given to the Finnish research findings related to the spirituality of a new generation or young adults. It is argued that understanding spirituality as an expression of postsecular religiosity gives more room for young adults to participate in communicative action concerning religion. This would promote a discursive religiousness in the spirit of Jürgen Habermas, in which a plurality of religious beliefs and practices are acknowledged and a dialogical and inter-religious approach is advocated.

Training Spiritual Care in Palliative Care in Teaching Hospitals in the Netherlands (SPIRIT-NL) : A Multicentre Trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geer, Joep van de; Zock, Tanja; Leget, Carlo; Veeger, Nic; Prins, Jelle; de Groot, Marieke; Vissers, Kris

Background: In the Netherlands, the spiritual dimension in healthcare became marginal in the second part of the twentieth century. In the Dutch healthcare sys- tem, palliative care is not a medical specialization and teaching hospitals do not have specialist palliative care units with specialized

Aligning Islamic Spirituality to Medical Imaging.

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Zainuddin, Zainul Ibrahim

2017-10-01

This paper attempts to conceptualize Islamic spirituality in medical imaging that deals with the humanistic and technical dimensions. It begins with establishing an understanding concerning spirituality, an area that now accepted as part of patient-centred care. This is followed by discussions pertaining to Islamic spirituality, related to the practitioner, patient care and the practice. Possible avenues towards applying Islamic spirituality in medical imaging are proposed. It is hoped that the resultant harmonization between Islamic spirituality and the practice will trigger awareness and interests pertaining to the role of a Muslim practitioner in advocating and enhancing Islamic spirituality.

Evaluation of the effect of Spiritual care on patients with generalized anxiety and depression: a randomized controlled study.

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Sankhe, A; Dalal, K; Save, D; Sarve, P

2017-12-01

The present study was conducted to assess the effect of spiritual care in patients with depression, anxiety or both in a randomized controlled design. The participants were randomized either to receive spiritual care or not and Hamilton anxiety rating scale-A (HAM-A), Hamilton depression rating scale-D (HAM-D), WHO-quality of life-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF) and Functional assessment of chronic illness therapy - Spiritual well-being (FACIT-Sp) were assessed before therapy and two follow-ups at 3 and 6 week. However, with regard to the spiritual care therapy group, statistically significant differences were observed in both HAM-A and HAM-D scales between the baseline and visit 2 (p scales during the follow-up periods for the control group of participants. When the scores were compared between the study groups, HAM-A, HAM-D and FACIT-Sp 12 scores were significantly lower in the interventional group as compared to the control group at both third and sixth weeks. This suggests a significant improvement in symptoms of anxiety and depression in the spiritual care therapy group than the control group; however, large randomized controlled trials with robust design are needed to confirm the same.

Giving wellness a spiritual workout. Two model programs emphasize the development of self-reliance.

Science.gov (United States)

Seaward, B L

1989-04-01

Many hospitals, corporations, and communities have developed wellness programs to help people maintain a healthy life-style. Today's wellness doctrine reflects modern medical thinking that, to achieve optimal human potential, a person must enjoy physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Most wellness programs, however, concentrate on the physical; few take into account spiritual well-being. Wellness programs developed by the Boulder County YMCA, Longmont, CO, and the University of Maryland, College Park, were based on an interpretation of a model suggested by Carl Jung that defines spirituality as the development of self-reliance. According to Jung, the constituents of self-reliance include awareness, inner faith, self-worth, humility, patience, acceptance, and self-confidence. He suggested that the absence of any one of these could cause a breakdown in a person's belief system and lead to a spiritual crisis. These programs trained participants to recognize the importance of their spiritual well-being and to find practical ways to improve it. Key components were a stress management course; workshops in confidence building and values clarification; and classes, lectures, and workshops that emphasize the integration of spiritual and physical well-being.

Spiritual Needs in Patients Suffering from Fibromyalgia

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M. Offenbaecher

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to assess spiritual needs of patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS and to evaluate correlations with disease and health associated variables. Using a set of standardized questionnaires (i.e., Spiritual Needs Questionnaire, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, SF-36's Quality of Life, Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale, etc., we enrolled 141 patients (95% women, mean age 58 ± 10 years. Here, needs for inner peace and giving/generativity scored the highest, while existential needs and religious needs scored lowest. Particularly inner peace needs and existential needs correlated with different domains of reduced mental health, particularly with anxiety, the intention to escape from illness, and psychosocial restrictions. Thirty-eight percent of the patients stated needs to be forgiven and nearly half to forgive someone from their past life. Therefore, the specific spiritual needs of patients with chronic diseases should be addressed in clinical care in order to identify potential therapeutic avenues to support and stabilize their psychoemotional situation.

How Community Clergy Provide Spiritual Care: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Clergy End-of-Life Education.

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LeBaron, Virginia T; Smith, Patrick T; Quiñones, Rebecca; Nibecker, Callie; Sanders, Justin J; Timms, Richard; Shields, Alexandra E; Balboni, Tracy A; Balboni, Michael J

2016-04-01

Community-based clergy are highly engaged in helping terminally ill patients address spiritual concerns at the end of life (EOL). Despite playing a central role in EOL care, clergy report feeling ill-equipped to spiritually support patients in this context. Significant gaps exist in understanding how clergy beliefs and practices influence EOL care. The objective of this study was to propose a conceptual framework to guide EOL educational programming for community-based clergy. This was a qualitative, descriptive study. Clergy from varying spiritual backgrounds, geographical locations in the U.S., and race/ethnicities were recruited and asked about optimal spiritual care provided to patients at the EOL. Interviews were audio taped, transcribed, and analyzed following principles of grounded theory. A final set of themes and subthemes were identified through an iterative process of constant comparison. Participants also completed a survey regarding experiences ministering to the terminally ill. A total of 35 clergy participated in 14 individual interviews and two focus groups. Primary themes included Patient Struggles at EOL and Clergy Professional Identity in Ministering to the Terminally Ill. Patient Struggles at EOL focused on existential questions, practical concerns, and difficult emotions. Clergy Professional Identity in Ministering to the Terminally Ill was characterized by descriptions of Who Clergy Are ("Being"), What Clergy Do ("Doing"), and What Clergy Believe ("Believing"). "Being" was reflected primarily by manifestations of presence; "Doing" by subthemes of religious activities, spiritual support, meeting practical needs, and mistakes to avoid; "Believing" by subthemes of having a relationship with God, nurturing virtues, and eternal life. Survey results were congruent with interview and focus group findings. A conceptual framework informed by clergy perspectives of optimal spiritual care can guide EOL educational programming for clergy. Copyright �

Spiritual care may impact mental health and medication adherence in HIV+ populations

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Oji VU

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Valerie U Oji,1–3 Leslie C Hung,3 Reza Abbasgholizadeh,1,4 Flora Terrell Hamilton,5 E James Essien,6 Evaristus Nwulia7 1Lifefountain Center Ministries Inc, Houston, TX, USA; 2Feik School of Pharmacy, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, USA; 3University of Texas, College of Pharmacy, Austin, TX, USA; 4University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA; 5Administration, Family & Medical Counseling Service, Inc. (FMCS, Washington, DC, USA; 6University of Houston Institute for Community Health, Houston, TX, USA; 7Psychiatry, Howard University Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA Objective: To explore a potential role for spirituality in medication-related needs assessment for integrated care in chronically ill populations. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the impact of faith beliefs on health and/or medication adherence in individuals with depression and/or HIV+/AIDS. Retrospective electronic medical record review of adult HIV+ patients of an urban primary care clinic with integrated mental health services was conducted, with Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Symptoms Screener (SAMISS, major depressive disorder (MDD incidence over the preceding year, and history of contact with a spiritual advisor. A convenience sample was interviewed to qualitatively assess potential medication therapy management needs and medication-related problems. Another sample was examined utilizing the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale. Results: The literature reports positive influence on health behaviors, coping and outcomes; and poor medication adherence and treatment decisions due to patient passivity or resistance. Spiritual advisor contact (not limited to a specific religion was significantly associated with MDD absence (1.7% vs. 15.3%, P<0.005 and inversely related to SAMISS, depression, and poor health behaviors. Patient interviews reflected significance of faith in terms of insight and acceptance of

Music Therapy and Spiritual Care in End-of-Life: A Qualitative Inquiry into Ethics and Training Issues Identified by Chaplains and Music Therapists.

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Masko, Meganne K

2016-01-01

Music therapists are increasingly employed by hospices. As such, they are often called upon to provide additional spiritual care to patients receiving end-of-life care. However, researchers have not yet examined the appropriateness of music therapists providing spiritual care as part of the hospice team, or ethics and training issues related to music therapist-led spiritual care. The purpose of this study was to explore the thoughts and attitudes of hospice chaplains and music therapists (MTs) about ethics and training issues related to music therapists providing spiritual care as part of the hospice interdisciplinary team. The study used semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of music therapists and chaplains specializing in hospice care as part of a larger exploratory mixed methods study. Each interview was recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a two-step process including both a modified phenomenological inductive approach and thematic analysis. Participants discussed ethics and training issues related to the provision of music therapist-led spiritual care as part of the hospice team. These issues included scope of practice, cultural competence and maintaining personal boundaries, and spiritual care training topics such as educational content and educational methods. While it was clear that both chaplains and music therapists felt it was appropriate for music therapists to provide spiritual care as part of the hospice team, there is a need for formal and informal spiritual care training for music therapists doing this type of work. Training should potentially include information about comparative religions, cultural competence, scope of practice, and maintaining personal boundaries. © the American Music Therapy Association 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Learning effects of thematic peer-review: a qualitative analysis of reflective journals on spiritual care.

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van Leeuwen, René; Tiesinga, Lucas J; Jochemsen, Henk; Post, Doeke

2009-05-01

This study describes the learning effects of thematic peer-review discussion groups (Hendriksen, 2000. Begeleid intervisie model, Collegiale advisering en probleemoplossing, Nelissen, Baarn.) on developing nursing students' competence in providing spiritual care. It also discusses the factors that might influence the learning process. The method of peer-review is a form of reflective learning based on the theory of experiential learning (Kolb, 1984. Experiential learning, Experience as the source of learning development. Englewoods Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hill). It was part of an educational programme on spiritual care in nursing for third-year undergraduate nursing students from two nursing schools in the Netherlands. Reflective journals (n=203) kept by students throughout the peer-review process were analysed qualitatively The analysis shows that students reflect on spirituality in the context of personal experiences in nursing practice. In addition, they discuss the nursing process and organizational aspects of spiritual care. The results show that the first two phases in the experiential learning cycle appear prominently; these are 'inclusion of actual experience' and 'reflecting on this experience'. The phases of 'abstraction of experience' and 'experimenting with new behaviour' are less evident. We will discuss possible explanations for these findings according to factors related to education, the students and the tutors and make recommendations for follow-up research.

Spirituality and the physician executive.

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Kaiser, L R

2000-01-01

The "s" word can now be spoken without flinching in health care organizations. Spirituality is becoming a common topic in management conferences around the world. Many U.S. corporations are recognizing the role of spirituality in creating a new humanistic capitalism that manages beyond the bottom line. Spirituality refers to a broad set of principles that transcend all religions. It is the relationship between yourself and something larger, such as the good of your patient or the welfare of the community. Spirituality means being in right relationship to all that is and understanding the mutual interdependence of all living beings. Physician executives should be primary proponents of spirituality in their organizations by: Modeling the power of spirituality in their own lives; integrating spiritual methodologies into clinical practice; fostering an integrative approach to patient care; encouraging the organization to tithe its profits for unmet community health needs; supporting collaborative efforts to improve the health of the community; and creating healing environments.

Development and validation of a cross-cultural EORTC measure of spiritual wellbeing (swb) for palliative care patients with cancer

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Vivat, B.; Young, T.; Winstanley, J.; Arraras, J. I.; Bennett, M. I.; Brédart, A.; Costantini, A.; Fisher, S. E.; Greimel, E.; Guo, J.; Irarrazaval, M. E.; Kobayashi, K.; Kruizinga, R.; Navarro, M.; Omidvari, S.; Rohde, G. E.; Serpentini, S.; van Laarhoven, H. W. M.; Yang, G.

2014-01-01

Spiritual care and spiritual wellbeing (SWB) are central to palliative care, but no measures of SWB have yet been developed cross-culturally. In 2002 the EORTC Quality of Life (QL) Group began international development of an SWB measure for palliative patients. Three domains of SWB were initially

Spirituality and medical practice: using the HOPE questions as a practical tool for spiritual assessment.

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Anandarajah, G; Hight, E

2001-01-01

The relationship between spirituality and medicine has been the focus of considerable interest in recent years. Studies suggest that many patients believe spirituality plays an important role in their lives, that there is a positive correlation between a patient's spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes, and that patients would like physicians to consider these factors in their medical care. A spiritual assessment as part of a medical encounter is a practical first step in incorporating consideration of a patient's spirituality into medical practice. The HOPE questions provide a formal tool that may be used in this process. The HOPE concepts for discussion are as follows: H--sources of hope, strength, comfort, meaning, peace, love and connection; O--the role of organized religion for the patient; P--personal spirituality and practices; E--effects on medical care and end-of-life decisions.

The spiritual distress assessment tool: an instrument to assess spiritual distress in hospitalised elderly persons

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Martin Estelle

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although spirituality is usually considered a positive resource for coping with illness, spiritual distress may have a negative influence on health outcomes. Tools are needed to identify spiritual distress in clinical practice and subsequently address identified needs. This study describes the first steps in the development of a clinically acceptable instrument to assess spiritual distress in hospitalized elderly patients. Methods A three-step process was used to develop the Spiritual Distress Assessment Tool (SDAT: 1 Conceptualisation by a multidisciplinary group of a model (Spiritual Needs Model to define the different dimensions characterizing a patient's spirituality and their corresponding needs; 2 Operationalisation of the Spiritual Needs Model within geriatric hospital care leading to a set of questions (SDAT investigating needs related to each of the defined dimensions; 3 Qualitative assessment of the instrument's acceptability and face validity in hospital chaplains. Results Four dimensions of spirituality (Meaning, Transcendence, Values, and Psychosocial Identity and their corresponding needs were defined. A formalised assessment procedure to both identify and subsequently score unmet spiritual needs and spiritual distress was developed. Face validity and acceptability in clinical practice were confirmed by chaplains involved in the focus groups. Conclusions The SDAT appears to be a clinically acceptable instrument to assess spiritual distress in elderly hospitalised persons. Studies are ongoing to investigate the psychometric properties of the instrument and to assess its potential to serve as a basis for integrating the spiritual dimension in the patient's plan of care.

Integrating Religion and Spirituality into Mental Health Care, Psychiatry and Psychotherapy

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René Hefti

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Integrating spirituality into mental health care, psychiatry and psychotherapy is still controversial, albeit a growing body of evidence is showing beneficial effects and a real need for such integration. In this review, past and recent research as well as evidence from the integrative concept of a Swiss clinic is summarized. Religious coping is highly prevalent among patients with psychiatric disorders. Surveys indicate that 70–80% use religious or spiritual beliefs and activities to cope with daily difficulties and frustrations. Religion may help patients to enhance emotional adjustment and to maintain hope, purpose and meaning. Patients emphasize that serving a purpose beyond one’s self can make it possible to live with what might otherwise be unbearable. Programs successfully incorporating spirituality into clinical practice are described and discussed. Studies indicate that the outcome of psychotherapy in religious patients can be enhanced by integrating religious elements into the therapy protocol and that this can be successfully done by religious and non-religious therapists alike.

Physician-Assisted Suicide and Other Forms of Euthanasia in Islamic Spiritual Care.

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Isgandarova, Nazila

2015-12-01

The muteness in the Qur'an about suicide due to intolerable pain and a firm opposition to suicide in the hadith literature formed a strong opinion among Muslims that neither repentance nor the suffering of the person can remove the sin of suicide or mercy 'killing' (al-qatl al-rahim), even if these acts are committed with the purpose of relieving suffering and pain. Some interpretations of the Islamic sources even give advantage to murderers as opposed to people who commit suicide because the murderers, at least, may have opportunity to repent for their sin. However, people who commit suicide are 'labeled' for losing faith in the afterlife without a chance to repent for their act. This paper claims that Islamic spiritual care can help people make decisions that may impact patients, family members, health care givers and the whole community by responding to questions such as 'What is the Islamic view on death?', 'What is the Islamic response to physician-assisted suicide and other forms of euthanasia?', 'What are the religious and moral underpinnings of these responses in Islam?' © The Author(s) 2015.

The cultural expression of spiritual distress in Israel.

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Schultz, Michael; Meged-Book, Tehilah; Mashiach, Tanya; Bar-Sela, Gil

2018-03-30

Although spiritual distress is present across cultures, the ways in which patients experience it vary between cultures. Our goal was to examine the cultural expression and key indicators of spiritual distress in Israel. We conducted a structured interview of 202 oncology outpatients in a cross-sectional study. Self-diagnosis of spiritual distress, which is a demonstrated gold standard for identifying its presence, was compared with the Facit-Sp-12 and a number of other items (from the Spiritual Injury Scale and newly developed Israeli items) hypothesized as Israeli cultural expressions of spiritual distress, demographic and medical data, and patient desire to receive spiritual care. Significant variation was found between Israeli cultural expression of spiritual distress and that found in studies from other countries. Key expressions of spiritual distress in this study included lack of inner peace, grief, and an inability to accept what is happening. Items related to faith were not significant, and loss of meaning showed mixed results. Patients requesting spiritual care were more likely to be in spiritual distress. No demographic or medical data correlated with spiritual distress. Specially designed interventions to reduce spiritual distress should address the expressions of the distress specific to that culture. Studies of the efficacy of spiritual care can examine the extent of spiritual distress in general or of its specific cultural expressions.

Psychiatric care in Asia: spirituality and religious connotations.

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Chaudhry, Haroon Rashid

2008-10-01

Throughout the history of humanity it has been said that the individual ego, is a very limited form of identity. Spirituality is shaped by larger social circumstances and by the beliefs and values present in the wider culture. In Asia, as compared to other regions, people fall back on spiritualism. Mental health professionals, laymen and patients have great interest in spirituality and religious activities but still it is one of the most neglected fields of life. Spirituality and religion often are used interchangeably and it has also been described as an individual search for meaning. In psychiatry, religion and spirituality play a vital role in an individual's personal and social life. They are part of a very powerful medium to help in the healing process. Spiritual people know the meaning and goal of their life, have strong belief and firm faith in God or themselves, they can easily cope with stress and have the ability to adjust in every situation. They have satisfaction and contentment. They are less anxious and depressed and if they feel so, they try to overcome it through religious activities or rituals. Patients who depend heavily on their religious faith are significantly less depressed than those who don't. Spiritual practices foster an awareness that serves to identify and promote values such as creativity, patience, perseverance, honesty, kindness, compassion, wisdom, equanimity, hope and joy, all of which support good healthcare practice. Spirituality and religion form a bridge of contact between human, a composite of body and soul, and the Creator. Realizing this need, mental health professionals working in this field need to understand the spiritual values of patients and incorporate them in assessment and treatment.

New ways of believing or belonging: is religion giving way to spirituality?

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Glendinning, Tony; Bruce, Steve

2006-09-01

In this article, the presence of alternative spirituality and practices within the general culture and their relationship to institutional religion are examined using national survey data collected as part of the 2001 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey. Alternative practices are found to divide into two groups of interests: concerns with personal well-being and interest in divination. Better-educated women are much more likely to engage with holistic practices associated with well-being; a minority of younger, less well-educated women are more likely to have found horoscopes, astrology, fortune-telling and tarot 'important in their lives'. Churchgoers find divination antithetical to religion while the use and salience of a range of holistic practices is as acceptable among churchgoers as it is among non-attenders and the secular (once allowance has been made for the connections between putatively alternative practices, gender, age and education). This underscores a focus on personal well-being rather than alternative spirituality in the consumption of holistic products and practices within the general culture. The study findings are used to assess claims for a spiritual revolution in modern Britain.

Islamic Spiritual Care as a New Profession : Expectations and Professional Standards

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Ajouaou, M.; Ayten, Ali; Koç, Mustafa

2016-01-01

Spiritual care is a discipline that is practised on the interface of religion on the one hand and the public domain on the other, i.e., in penitentiary institutions, heath institutions, and the military, etc. Its legitimacy is found primarily in the sacred sources of a religion (Ajouaou, M., R.

Longitudinal Pediatric Palliative Care: Quality of Life & Spiritual Struggle (FACE): design and methods.

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Dallas, Ronald H; Wilkins, Megan L; Wang, Jichuan; Garcia, Ana; Lyon, Maureen E

2012-09-01

As life expectancy increases for adolescents ever diagnosed with AIDS due to treatment advances, the optimum timing of advance care planning is unclear. Left unprepared for end-of-life (EOL) decisions, families may encounter miscommunication and disagreements, resulting in families being charged with neglect, court battles and even legislative intervention. Advanced care planning (ACP) is a valuable tool rarely used with adolescents. The Longitudinal Pediatric Palliative Care: Quality of Life & Spiritual Struggle study is a two-arm, randomized controlled trial assessing the effectiveness of a disease specific FAmily CEntered (FACE) advanced care planning intervention model among adolescents diagnosed with AIDS, aimed at relieving psychological, spiritual, and physical suffering, while maximizing quality of life through facilitated conversations about ACP. Participants will include 130 eligible dyads (adolescent and family decision-maker) from four urban cities in the United States, randomized to either the FACE intervention or a Healthy Living Control. Three 60-minute sessions will be conducted at weekly intervals. The dyads will be assessed at baseline as well as 3-, 6-, 12-, and 18-month post-intervention. The primary outcome measures will be in congruence with EOL treatment preferences, decisional conflict, and quality of communication. The mediating and moderating effects of threat appraisal, HAART adherence, and spiritual struggle on the relationships among FACE and quality of life and hospitalization/dialysis use will also be assessed. This study will be the first longitudinal study of an AIDS-specific model of ACP with adolescents. If successful, this intervention could quickly translate into clinical practice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spirituality and health: A narrativepastoral approach

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C.J. Truter

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Health is much more than the absence of illness; it is rather a “high level wellness” and a life with “meaningful life-possibilities”. This article indicates how meaningful life-possibilities and a high level of wellness can be socially constructed within a process of narrativepastoral therapy for a patient who is chronically ill and therefore cannot be cured. Pastoral care as a spiritual and religious act can play an important role in giving sense and meaning to people’s lives, and can play a preventive role in living with illness. This article furthermore shows how patients’ stories of illness can be centralised by means of narrative therapy and how a pastoral and ethical attitude of love and respect can create a climate conducive to better health and well being. We share how patients’ richer descriptions of their illness can produce a spiritual climate which can contribute to their better health.

Building bridges: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of nurse educators' clinical experience using the T.R.U.S.T. Model for inclusive spiritual care.

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Scott Barss, Karen

2012-04-30

Educating nurses to provide evidence-based, non-intrusive spiritual care in today's pluralistic context is both daunting and essential. Qualitative research is needed to investigate what helps nurse educators feel more prepared to meet this challenge. This paper presents findings from an interpretive phenomenological analysis of the experience of nurse educators who used the T.R.U.S.T. Model for Inclusive Spiritual Care in their clinical teaching. The T.R.U.S.T. Model is an evidence-based, non-linear resource developed by the author and piloted in the undergraduate nursing program in which she teaches. Three themes are presented: "The T.R.U.S.T. Model as a bridge to spiritual exploration"; "blockades to the bridge"; and "unblocking the bridge". T.R.U.S.T. was found to have a positive influence on nurse educators' comfort and confidence in the teaching of spiritual care. Recommendations for maximizing the model's positive impact are provided, along with "embodied" resources to support holistic teaching and learning about spiritual care.

Give me a break!: Associations between informal caregivers' attitudes toward respite care and characteristics of caregivers, care recipients and the care giving situation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Exel, J..; de Graaf, G.; Brouwer, W.

2008-01-01

Background/objective: Because informal health care is now recognized to be indispensable to health care systems, different forms of respite care have been developed and publicly funded that supposedly alleviate caregivers' perceived burdens and help prolong the care giving task. Nonetheless, the use

Learning Spiritual Dimensions of Care from a Historical Perspective.

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Narayanasamy, Aru

1999-01-01

Looks at the spiritual dimensions of nursing at various historical periods: ancient civilizations, the Middle Ages, Renaissance, and the 18th and 19th centuries. Reviews contemporary perspectives on spirituality and nursing and suggests how nurses can be equipped to deal with patients' spiritual needs. (SK)

Enhancing psychosocial and spiritual palliative care: Four-year results of the program of comprehensive care for people with advanced illnesses and their families in Spain.

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Gómez-Batiste, Xavier; Mateo-Ortega, Dolors; Lasmarías, Cristina; Novellas, Anna; Espinosa, Jose; Beas, Elba; Ela, Sara; Barbero, Javier

2017-02-01

We aimed to describe the overall quantitative and qualitative results of a "La Caixa" Foundation and World Health Organization Collaborating Center Program entitled "Comprehensive Care for Patients with Advanced Illnesses and their Families" after four years of experience. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to assess the program. Quasiexperimental, prospective, multicenter, single-group, and pretest/posttest methods were utilized to assess the quantitative data. The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions was assessed at baseline (visit 1) and after four follow-up visits. The following dimensions were assessed: mood state, discomfort, anxiety, degree of adjustment or adaptation to disease, and suffering. We also assessed the four dimensions of the spiritual pain scale: faith or spiritual beliefs, valuable faith or spiritual beliefs, meaning in life, and peace of mind/forgiveness. Qualitative analyses were performed via surveys to evaluate stakeholder satisfaction. We built 29 psychosocial support teams involving 133 professionals-mainly psychologists and social workers. During the study period, 8,964 patients and 11,810 family members attended. Significant improvements were observed in the psychosocial and spiritual dimensions assessed. Patients, family members, and stakeholders all showed high levels of satisfaction. This model of psychosocial care could serve as an example for other countries that wish to improve psychosocial and spiritual support. Our results confirm that specific psychosocial interventions delivered by well-trained experts can help to ease suffering and discomfort in end-of-life and palliative care patients, particularly those with high levels of pain or emotional distress.

Assessment of the Relationship between Spiritual and Social Health and the Self-Care Ability of Elderly People Referred to Community Health Centers.

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Mohammadi, Mahboobeh; Alavi, Mousa; Bahrami, Masoud; Zandieh, Zahra

2017-01-01

Promotion of self-care ability among older people is an essential means to help maintain and improve their health. However, the role of spiritual and social health has not yet been considered in detail in the context of self-care ability among elderly. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between spiritual and social health and self-care ability of older people referred to community health centers in Isfahan. In this cross-sectional correlation study, 200 people, aged 60 years and older, referred to healthcare centers in 2016 were recruited through convenience sampling method. Data were collected by four-part tool comprising of: (a) demographics, (b) Ellison and Palotzin's spiritual well-being scale, (c) Kees's "social health" scale, and (d) self-care ability scale for the elderly by Soderhamn's; data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential (independent t -test, analysis of variance - ANOVA, Pearson's coefficient tests, and multiple regression analysis) statistics by SPSS16 software. Findings showed that the entered predictor variables were accounted for 41% of total variance ( R 2 ) of the two self-care ability in the model ( p well-being and social health, significantly predicted the self-care ability of older people. The results of this study emphasized on the relationship between spiritual and social health of the elderly people and their ability to self-care. Therefore, it would be recommended to keep the focus of the service resources towards improving social and spiritual health to improve self-care ability in elderly people.

The crescent and Islam: healing, nursing and the spiritual dimension. Some considerations towards an understanding of the Islamic perspectives on caring.

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Rassool, G H

2000-12-01

Caring from Islamic perspectives is not well versed in Eurocentric nursing literature. There is widespread misunderstanding of the concept and practice of Islam within the context of health care and nursing practice. The areas of contention, in the context of health care systems, are whether the western paradigm to nursing care and management are applicable to Muslims and non-Muslims in both Islamic and non-Islamic countries. What is lacking in some of the conceptual frameworks and models of care is not only the fundamental spiritual dimension of care, but also the significance of spiritual development of the individual towards healing. The focus of this paper is to provide an awareness of Islamic health practices, health behaviours, code of ethics and the framework of Islamic perspectives of caring and spirituality. A brief overview of the Muslim world, the historical development in caring and health and the pillars of the Islamic faith provide the context of the paper. The development of a model of care based on the Islamic perspective is suggested.

Transforming Pain into Beauty: On Art, Healing, and Care for the Spirit

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Rachel Ettun

2014-01-01

Full Text Available From drawing to sculpture, poetry to journaling, and dance to music and song, the arts can have a major impact on patients’ spiritual well-being and health. The arts empower patients to fulfill the basic human drive to create and give patients a sense of possibility. Through creative expression, patients regain a feeling of wholeness, individually and as part of the larger world. Although spiritual caregivers have made occasional use of the arts, it would be better for the arts to be seen as a pillar of spiritual care provision. This paper provides a model for arts-based spiritual care (chaplaincy in oncology/hematology and elsewhere. We discuss how to match the art form intervention to the individual patient and give examples of many kinds of uniquely spiritual arts-based interventions. In life, there are occasional “caseuras,” or ruptures. Using a theoretical foundation drawn from theologian Michael Fishbane, our model of arts-based spiritual care bridges the experience of the caesura to a renewed sense of meaning, or spiritual reorientation, that can be discovered within the reality of illness. Additionally, the ambiguity and playfulness inherent to creative expression strengthen the patient’s flexibility and resilience.

Spiritual pain and suffering.

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Brunjes, George B

2010-01-01

Spiritual pain/suffering is commonly experienced by persons with life-limiting illness and their families. Physical pain itself can be exacerbated by non-physical causes such as fear, anxiety, grief, unresolved guilt, depression and unmet spiritual meets. Likewise, the inability to manage physical pain well can be due to emotional and spiritual needs. This is why a holistic, interdisciplinary assessment of pain and suffering is required for each patient and family. The mind, body and spirit are understood in relationship to each other and, in those cases, in relationship to a deity or deities are important to understand. Cultural interpretations of pain and suffering may conflict with the goals of palliative care. Understanding the spiritual framework of the patient and family can help to assure that the physical and spiritual suffering of the patient can be eliminated to provide a peaceful death. Spiritual practices may help in the management of physical pain.

‘Peace’ and ‘life worthwhile’ as measures of spiritual well-being in African palliative care: a mixed-methods study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Selman, L.; Speck, P.; Gysels, M.; Agupio, G.; Dinat, N.; Downing, J.; Gwyther, L.; Mashao, T.; Mmoledi, K.; Moll, T.; Mpanga Sebuyira, L.; Ikin, B.; Higginson, I.J.; Harding, R.

2013-01-01

Background Patients with incurable, progressive disease receiving palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa experience high levels of spiritual distress with a detrimental impact on their quality of life. Locally validated measurement tools are needed to identify patients’ spiritual needs and evaluate

Spiritual well-being of Italian advanced cancer patients in the home palliative care setting.

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Martoni, A A; Varani, S; Peghetti, B; Roganti, D; Volpicella, E; Pannuti, R; Pannuti, F

2017-07-01

This study evaluates the spiritual well-being (SpWB) in very advanced cancer patients assisted by the home palliative care program of ANT Foundation, a no-profit Italian organisation. SpWB was assessed by the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being Scale (FACIT-Sp12), including Meaning, Peace, and Faith subscales. The quality-of-life (QoL) was evaluated by using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General scale. Questionnaires were distributed to 1,055 patients and 683 were compiled and evaluable for analysis. The mean scores of FACIT-Sp12 as well as of QoL were notably lower than reference values for cancer survivors. The FACIT-Sp12 score was higher in patients with less impaired Karnofsky Performance Status, fully participating in religious rituals and living in central Italy. A high Pearson's correlation was found between QoL and FACIT-Sp12 (r = .60), Peace (r = .71) and Meaning (r = .52), while it was marginal for Faith (r = .27). The hierarchical regression analysis showed that FACIT-Sp12 is a significant predictor of QoL. The study suggests that Italian patients with advanced cancer assisted by expert multi-professional teams in the home palliative care setting have a low level of SpWB thereby highlighting the need for the integration of spiritual support as part of comprehensive cancer care. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessment of the relationship between spiritual and social health and the self-care ability of elderly people referred to community health centers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahboobeh Mohammadi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Promotion of self-care ability among older people is an essential means to help maintain and improve their health. However, the role of spiritual and social health has not yet been considered in detail in the context of self-care ability among elderly. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between spiritual and social health and self-care ability of older people referred to community health centers in Isfahan. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional correlation study, 200 people, aged 60 years and older, referred to healthcare centers in 2016 were recruited through convenience sampling method. Data were collected by four-part tool comprising of: (a demographics, (b Ellison and Palotzin's spiritual well-being scale, (c Kees's “social health” scale, and (d self-care ability scale for the elderly by Soderhamn's; data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential (independent t-test, analysis of variance – ANOVA, Pearson's coefficient tests, and multiple regression analysis statistics by SPSS16 software. Results: Findings showed that the entered predictor variables were accounted for 41% of total variance (R2 of the two self-care ability in the model (p < 0.001, F3, 199 = 46.02. Two out of the three predictor variables including religious well-being and social health, significantly predicted the self-care ability of older people. Conclusions: The results of this study emphasized on the relationship between spiritual and social health of the elderly people and their ability to self-care. Therefore, it would be recommended to keep the focus of the service resources towards improving social and spiritual health to improve self-care ability in elderly people.

Gender inequalities in care-giving in Canada.

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Dowler, J M; Jordan-Simpson, D A; Adams, O

1992-01-01

In Canada today, as in the past, men and women devote different amounts of time and effort to providing health care to their family and in the broader community. This paper examines "the social distinction between masculinity and femininity" in care-giving. Issues of gender inequality in care-giving have the potential to affect the formal health care system as the burden of caring will increase over the next few decades with the aging of society. This increase in need for care is occurring at a time when primary care providers--women--have additional demand on their time. Canadian society has been facing a series of social, demographic and economic shifts such as a higher divorce rate, two-income families, women's increasing professional commitments and first pregnancies at later ages, these factors may not affect women's willingness to care for others. However women may need support to provide the care. Assuming present trends, increasing need for families to care for elderly relatives may be inevitable. Perhaps society will recognize this need and provide support to those providing informal care. This could take the form of allowing individuals more time to provide care through child care leave, leave to care for parents and job-sharing. Support to those providing informal care might also be facilitated through community support services such as respite care, household maintenance, psychological support to care-givers, support groups, informal networks within a community and consideration of unconventional support methods.

How parents of children receiving pediatric palliative care use religion, spirituality, or life philosophy in tough times.

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Hexem, Kari R; Mollen, Cynthia J; Carroll, Karen; Lanctot, Dexter A; Feudtner, Chris

2011-01-01

How parents of children with life threatening conditions draw upon religion, spirituality, or life philosophy is not empirically well described. Participants were parents of children who had enrolled in a prospective cohort study on parental decision-making for children receiving pediatric palliative care. Sixty-four (88%) of the 73 parents interviewed were asked an open-ended question on how religion, spirituality, or life philosophy (RSLP) was helpful in difficult times. Responses were coded and thematically organized utilizing qualitative data analysis methods. Any discrepancies amongst coders regarding codes or themes were resolved through discussion that reached consensus. Most parents of children receiving palliative care felt that RSLP was important in helping them deal with tough times, and most parents reported either participation in formal religious communities, or a sense of personal spirituality. A minority of parents, however, did not wish to discuss the topic at all. For those who described their RSLP, their beliefs and practices were associated with qualities of their overall outlook on life, questions of goodness and human capacity, or that "everything happens for a reason." RSLP was also important in defining the child's value and beliefs about the child's afterlife. Prayer and reading the bible were important spiritual practices in this population, and parents felt that these practices influenced their perspectives on the medical circumstances and decision-making, and their locus of control. From religious participation and practices, parents felt they received support from both their spiritual communities and from God, peace and comfort, and moral guidance. Some parents, however, also reported questioning their faith, feelings of anger and blame towards God, and rejecting religious beliefs or communities. RSLP play a diverse and important role in the lives of most, but not all, parents whose children are receiving pediatric palliative care.

Hope for the future: intensifying spirituality in the workplace.

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Batcheller, Joyce; Davis, James; Yoder-Wise, Patricia S

2013-01-01

Healthy workplaces address various issues. Work focused on ergonomics addresses physical issues, satisfaction surveys reveal psychosocial issues; and other approaches address spirituality issues. Spirituality in the workplace contributes to holistic care and to the worth of the individual. Incorporating the concept of spirituality, in its broad sense, into the workplace enriches leadership practice and contributes to a holistic work environment. Spirituality is core to the servant leader approach to leadership and beneficial to other approaches. Followers benefit from a holistic approach to leadership; and some specific practices can exhibit the belief an organization holds related to the worth of the individual. Incorporating spirituality into an organization reflects the same values nursing holds for person-centered care, a view of integration of physical, psychological, and spiritual needs.

Kesejahteraan Spiritual Keluarga Pasien Stroke dan Kaitannya dengan Depresi

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Muhamad Zulfatul A’la; Komarudin Komarudin; Defi Efendi

2015-01-01

Stroke is a one of major problem in palliative care. Spiritual and depression assessment of the family is an important element in the process of palliative care for stroke survivors. The purpose of this study was to know the description of the spiritual well-being among stroke family caregiver family and its relationship with depression. This study used cross-sectional design. Spiritual well-being scale (SWBS) was used to see the spiritual well-being of the family and the Center for Epidemiol...

The 3 H and BMSEST Models for Spirituality in Multicultural Whole-Person Medicine

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Anandarajah, Gowri

2008-01-01

PURPOSE The explosion of evidence in the last decade supporting the role of spirituality in whole-person patient care has prompted proposals for a move to a biopsychosocial-spiritual model for health. Making this paradigm shift in today’s multicultural societies poses many challenges, however. This article presents 2 theoretical models that provide common ground for further exploration of the role of spirituality in medicine. METHODS The 3 H model (head, heart, hands) and the BMSEST models (body, mind, spirit, environment, social, transcendent) evolved from the author’s 12-year experience with curricula development regarding spirituality and medicine, 16-year experience as an attending family physician and educator, lived experience with both Hinduism and Christianity since childhood, and a lifetime study of the world’s great spiritual traditions. The models were developed, tested with learners, and refined. RESULTS The 3 H model offers a multidimensional definition of spirituality, applicable across cultures and belief systems, that provides opportunities for a common vocabulary for spirituality. Therapeutic options, from general spiritual care (compassion, presence, and the healing relationship), to specialized spiritual care (eg, by clinical chaplains), to spiritual self-care are discussed. The BMSEST model provides a conceptual framework for the role of spirituality in the larger health care context, useful for patient care, education, and research. Interactions among the 6 BMSEST components, with references to ongoing research, are proposed. CONCLUSIONS Including spirituality in whole-person care is a way of furthering our understanding of the complexities of human health and well-being. The 3 H and BMSEST models suggest a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach based on universal concepts and a foundation in both the art and science of medicine. PMID:18779550

Nurses' comfort level with spiritual assessment: a study among nurses working in diverse healthcare settings.

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Cone, Pamela H; Giske, Tove

2017-10-01

To gain knowledge about nurses' comfort level in assessing spiritual matters and to learn what questions nurses use in practice related to spiritual assessment. Spirituality is important in holistic nursing care; however, nurses report feeling uncomfortable and ill-prepared to address this domain with patients. Education is reported to impact nurses' ability to engage in spiritual care. This cross-sectional exploratory survey reports on a mixed-method study examining how comfortable nurses are with spiritual assessment. In 2014, a 21-item survey with 10 demographic variables and three open-ended questions were distributed to Norwegian nurses working in diverse care settings with 172 nurse responses (72 % response rate). SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data; thematic analysis examined the open-ended questions. Norwegian nurses reported a high level of comfort with most questions even though spirituality is seen as private. Nurses with some preparation or experience in spiritual care were most comfortable assessing spirituality. Statistically significant correlations were found between the nurses' comfort level with spiritual assessment and their preparedness and sense of the importance of spiritual assessment. How well-prepared nurses felt was related to years of experience, degree of spirituality and religiosity, and importance of spiritual assessment. Many nurses are poorly prepared for spiritual assessment and care among patients in diverse care settings; educational preparation increases their comfort level with facilitating such care. Nurses who feel well prepared with spirituality feel more comfortable with the spiritual domain. By fostering a culture where patients' spirituality is discussed and reflected upon in everyday practice and in continued education, nurses' sense of preparedness, and thus their level of comfort, can increase. Clinical supervision and interprofessional collaboration with hospital chaplains and/or other spiritual leaders can

Nursing textbooks need to inform about spirituality.

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2016-09-21

Considering the spiritual needs of patients is an important aspect of holistic patient care. However, many nurses lack knowledge and awareness of the subject, and spirituality is not strongly featured as a key part of holistic care in core nursing textbooks. The author argues that guidance given by nursing textbooks needs to be more applicable to practice.

Informal care giving to more disabled people with multiple sclerosis.

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Buchanan, Robert J; Radin, Dagmar; Chakravorty, Bonnie J; Tyry, Tuula

2009-01-01

About 30% of the people with multiple sclerosis (MS) require some form of home care assistance and 80% of that assistance is provided by informal or unpaid care givers. This study focusses on the care givers for 530 more disabled people with MS, with the objective of learning more about informal care giving to people with greater dependency and need for assistance. The data presented in this study were collected in a national survey of 530 people who provided informal care to more disabled people with MS. Almost half of these care givers reported that they provided more than 20 h of care per week to the person with MS, with more than 9 in 10 shopping for groceries, doing indoor housework, preparing meals or providing transportation for the person with MS. More than 4 in 10 employed care givers reduced the amount of time worked in the previous 12 months because of their care giving responsibilities. Although more than half of the MS care givers in our study reported that care giving was demanding, time consuming or challenging, about 90% of these MS care givers were happy that they could help. About two in three of these MS care givers found that care giving was rewarding, with more than 8 in 10 proud of the care they provided. More than a quarter of the informal care givers to people with MS thought they would benefit from treatment or counselling provided by mental health professionals. Not only it is necessary to provide access to mental health services for people with MS, but it is also important to assure that their informal care givers also have access to appropriate mental health care, given the scope of their care giving responsibilities.

Give me a break! Informal caregiver attitudes towards respite care.

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van Exel, Job; de Graaf, Gjalt; Brouwer, Werner

2008-10-01

Because informal health care is now recognized to be indispensable to health care systems, different forms of respite care have been developed and publicly funded that supposedly alleviate caregivers' perceived burdens and help prolong the care giving task. Nonetheless, the use of respite care services is low even among substantially strained caregivers. To throw light on this low usage, this paper explores the associations between attitudes towards respite care, characteristics of the care giving situation, and the need and use of respite care. The survey, administered to a sample of 273 informal caregivers, addressed caregiver, care recipient, and care giving situation characteristics, as well as the familiarity and use of respite care services. It also included a sub-set of 12 statements eliciting attitudes towards respite care from an earlier study [Van Exel NJA, De Graaf G, Brouwer WBF. Care for a break? An investigation of informal caregivers' attitudes toward respite care using Q-methodology. Health Policy 2007;83(2/3):332-42]. Associations between variables were measured using univariate statistics and multinomial logistic regression. We found three caregiver attitudes, distributed fairly equally in the sample, that are apparently associated with caregiver educational level, employment status, health and happiness, as well as care recipient gender, duration and intensity of care giving, relationship, co-residence, need for surveillance, and subjective burden and process utility of care giving. However, the relation between attitude and familiarity with and use of respite care services is ambiguous. Although further exploration is needed of the mix of Q-methodology and survey analysis, the overall results indicate that a considerable portion of the caregiver population needs but does not readily ask for support or respite care. This finding has important policy implications in the context of an ageing population.

Learning effects of thematic peer-review : A qualitative analysis of reflective journals on spiritual care

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van Leeuwen, Rene; Tiesinga, Lucas J.; Jochemsen, Henk; Post, Doeke

This study describes the learning effects of thematic peer-review discussion groups (Hendriksen, 2000. Begeleid intervisie model, Collegiate advisering en probleemoplossing, Nelissen, Baarn.) on developing nursing students' competence in providing spiritual care. It also discusses the factors that

Learning effects of thematic peer-review: A qualitative analysis of reflective journals on spiritual care

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leeuwen, van L.J.; Tiesinga, L.J.; Jochemsen, H.

2009-01-01

This study describes the learning effects of thematic peer-review discussion groups (Hendriksen, 2000. Begeleid intervisie model, Collegiale advisering en probleemoplossing, Nelissen, Baarn.) on developing nursing students’ competence in providing spiritual care. It also discusses the factors that

Effect of spiritual counseling on spiritual well-being in Iranian women with cancer: A randomized clinical trial.

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Sajadi, Mahbobeh; Niazi, Naimeh; Khosravi, Sharareh; Yaghobi, Abolghasem; Rezaei, Mahboubeh; Koenig, Harold G

2018-02-01

This study examined the effect of spiritual counseling on the spiritual well-being of Iranian women with cancer. a randomized clinical trial was conducted on 42 female cancer patients who were randomized to either an 8-week spiritual counseling intervention (n = 21) or a control group that received routine education/care (n = 21). Spiritual well-being (SWB) was assessed before and after the 8-week spiritual counseling program using Paloutzian and Ellison's (1983) Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS). There were no significant differences on SWBS and its two subscales scores (RWB and EWB) between intervention and control groups at baseline (p > .05). After intervention, there was a significant mean difference in SWB (p = .001), RWB (p = .013) and EWB (p = .001) in two groups. Spiritual counseling is associated with significant improvements in SWB in Iranian women with cancer. Interventions that acknowledge the spiritual needs of these patients should be incorporated into conventional treatments. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

[Experience of Spiritual Conflict in Hospice Nurses: A Phenomenological Study].

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Lee, Byoung Sook; Kwak, Su Young

2017-02-01

This aim of this phenomenological study was to describe and understand the experience of spiritual conflict in hospice nurses by identifying the meanings and structures of the experience. Participants were 12 nurses working for one year or more at hospice units of general hospitals in a metropolitan city and experiencing of spiritual conflict as hospice nurses. Over six months data were collected using individual in-depth interviews and analyzed with the method suggested by Colaizzi. The experience of spiritual conflict in participants was organized into three categories, six theme-clusters, and 13 themes. The participants felt existential anxiety on death and a fear of death which is out of human control and skepticism for real facts of human beings facing death. They also experienced agitation of fundamental beliefs about life with agitation of the philosophy of life guiding themselves and mental distress due to fundamental questions that are difficult to answer. Also they had distress about poor spiritual care with guilty feelings from neglecting patients' spiritual needs and difficulties in spiritual care due to lack of practical competencies. Findings indicate the experience of spiritual conflict in hospice nurses is mainly associated with frequent experience of death in hospice patients. The experience of spiritual conflict consisted of existential anxiety, agitation of fundamental beliefs and distress over poor spiritual care. So, programs to help relieve anxiety, agitation and distress are necessary to prevent spiritual conflict and then spiritual burnout in hospice nurses. © 2017 Korean Society of Nursing Science

Practical approaches to spiritual pain.

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Brunjes, George B

2010-01-01

Spiritual pain/suffering is commonly experienced by persons with life-limiting illness and their families. Physical pain itself can be exacerbated by non-physical causes such as fear, anxiety, grief, unresolved guilt, depression and unmet spiritual meets. Likewise, the inability to manage physical pain well can be due to emotional and spiritual needs. This is why a holistic, interdisciplinary assessment of pain and suffering is required for each patient and family. The mind, body and spirit are understood in relationship to each other and, in those cases, in relationship to a deity or deities are important to understand. Cultural interpretations of pain and suffering may conflict with the goals of palliative care. Understanding the spiritual framework of the patient and family can help to assure that the physical and spiritual suffering of the patient can be eliminated to provide a peaceful death. Spiritual practices may help in the management of physical pain.

The Evolution of Research Paradigms in Pastoral/Spiritual Care, Counseling, and Education.

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Carr, John C

2015-12-01

This partially autobiographical article is presented as a chapter in the narrative of the evolution of research methodology in the social sciences and the impact that evolution has had on pastoral/spiritual care research as the author has experienced and observed it during the latter part of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st century. © The Author(s) 2015.

Vulnerable populations: cultural and spiritual direction.

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Quest, Tammie E; Franks, Nicole M

2006-08-01

Cultural, spiritual, and religious diversity of emergency department patients is increasing while that of emergency physicians in particular remains predominantly homogeneous. With a discordance of cultural, race, and ethnicity exist, in the case of ethical conflict -resolution becomes that much more difficult. Patients may feel vulnerable when their emergency care provider does not understand his or her cultural, spiritual, and religious uniqueness as it relates to the patient-doctor interaction and health care decision making. This review will examine (1) language differences; (2) cultural, religious, and spiritual differences between patient and provider; (3) differing explanatory models of disease between patient and provider; and (4) diverse bioethical models of decision making of differing cultures in an effort to reduce vulnerabilities.

Principle of Care and Giving to Help People in Need.

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Bekkers, René; Ottoni-Wilhelm, Mark

2016-01-01

Theories of moral development posit that an internalized moral value that one should help those in need-the principle of care-evokes helping behaviour in situations where empathic concern does not. Examples of such situations are helping behaviours that involve cognitive deliberation and planning, that benefit others who are known only in the abstract, and who are out-group members. Charitable giving to help people in need is an important helping behaviour that has these characteristics. Therefore we hypothesized that the principle of care would be positively associated with charitable giving to help people in need, and that the principle of care would mediate the empathic concern-giving relationship. The two hypotheses were tested across four studies. The studies used four different samples, including three nationally representative samples from the American and Dutch populations, and included both self-reports of giving (Studies 1-3), giving observed in a survey experiment (Study 3), and giving observed in a laboratory experiment (Study 4). The evidence from these studies indicated that a moral principle to care for others was associated with charitable giving to help people in need and mediated the empathic concern-giving relationship. © 2016 The Authors. European Journal of Personality published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Personality Psychology.

Faith and Belief, Importance, Community, Address in Care spiritual history tool by C. M. Puchalski as an instrument for an interdisciplinary team in patient car

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Krakowiak Piotr

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Being aware of the tradition of research on spirituality in theology and the existence of detailed publications and research concerning psychology of religion and religiosity in psychology as well as other sciences in Poland, the authors propose the recognition and adaptation of the FICA tool for spirituality research. The belief in the importance of deepening the knowledge and providing tools to research spirituality of human existence results from a long practice of the authors in palliative and hospital care. Understanding a difficulty in operationalizing the category of spirituality, they attempted at searching for a method that would be applicable to persons at the end of their lives as well as to all the suffering. Having analyzed the research tools built by Polish science as well as available ones on religiosity and spirituality the following paper aims at presenting the unknown FICA tool (F – Faith and Believe, I – Importance, C – Community, A – Address in Care in Poland by Prof. Dr. Christina M. Puchalski, USA, being adapted to Polish practice. The tool presented allows for the evaluation of spiritual experience of persons taken medical and social care of by every member of multidisciplinary team of professionals. Since the FICA tool is a qualitative scale it does not need a normalization and standardization methodology. However, a cultural adaptation is crucial in order to make the practical tool become help in answering spiritual and existential questions posed by patients to workers and voluntaries engaged in the process of Care.

Palliative Nursing and Sacred Medicine: A Holistic Stance on Entheogens, Healing, and Spiritual Care.

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Rosa, William E; Hope, Stephanie; Matzo, Marianne

2018-04-01

The fields of palliative and holistic nursing both maintain a commitment to the care of the whole person, including a focus on spiritual care. Advanced serious illness may pose a plethora of challenges to patients seeking to create meaning and purpose in their lives. The purpose of this article is to introduce scholarly dialogue on the integration of entheogens, medicines that engender an experience of the sacred, into the spiritual and holistic care of patients experiencing advanced serious illness. A brief history of the global use of entheogens as well as a case study are provided. Clinical trials show impressive preliminary findings regarding the healing potential of these medicinal agents. While other professions, such as psychology, pharmacy, and medicine, are disseminating data related to patient outcomes secondary to entheogen administration, the nursing literature has not been involved in raising awareness of such advancements. Research is illustrating their effectiveness in achieving integrative experiences for patients confronting advanced serious illness and their ability to promote presence, introspection, decreased fear, and increased joy and acceptance. Evidence-based knowledge surrounding this potentially sensitive topic is necessary to invite understanding, promote scientific knowledge development, and create healing environments for patients, nurses, and researchers alike.

A knowledge synthesis of culturally- and spiritually-sensitive end-of-life care: findings from a scoping review.

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Fang, Mei Lan; Sixsmith, Judith; Sinclair, Shane; Horst, Glen

2016-05-18

Multiple factors influence the end-of-life (EoL) care and experience of poor quality services by culturally- and spiritually-diverse groups. Access to EoL services e.g. health and social supports at home or in hospices is difficult for ethnic minorities compared to white European groups. A tool is required to empower patients and families to access culturally-safe care. This review was undertaken by the Canadian Virtual Hospice as a foundation for this tool. To explore attitudes, behaviours and patterns to utilization of EoL care by culturally and spiritually diverse groups and identify gaps in EoL care practice and delivery methods, a scoping review and thematic analysis of article content was conducted. Fourteen electronic databases and websites were searched between June-August 2014 to identify English-language peer-reviewed publications and grey literature (including reports and other online resources) published between 2004-2014. The search identified barriers and enablers at the systems, community and personal/family levels. Primary barriers include: cultural differences between healthcare providers; persons approaching EoL and family members; under-utilization of culturally-sensitive models designed to improve EoL care; language barriers; lack of awareness of cultural and religious diversity issues; exclusion of families in the decision-making process; personal racial and religious discrimination; and lack of culturally-tailored EoL information to facilitate decision-making. This review highlights that most research has focused on decision-making. There were fewer studies exploring different cultural and spiritual experiences at the EoL and interventions to improve EoL care. Interventions evaluated were largely educational in nature rather than service oriented.

Nurses Exploring the Spirituality of Their Patients With Cancer: Participant Observation on a Medical Oncology Ward.

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van Meurs, Jacqueline; Smeets, Wim; Vissers, Kris C P; Groot, Marieke; Engels, Yvonne

2017-07-19

Attention for spirituality should be an integral part of professionals' caregiving. Particularly, nurses caring for patients with cancer might have opportunities to give attention to this dimension. The aim of this study was to gain insight in the way and extent to which nurses during daily caregiving observe and explore spiritual issues of hospitalized patients with cancer. We performed an ethnographic study with participant observation. Data were collected in 2015 during 4 shifts at the medical oncology department of a university hospital. The researcher, a spiritual care provider (chaplain) wearing the same kind of uniform as the nurses, observed the nurses, participated in their actions, and interviewed them after the shift. Although the patients did send many implicit and explicit messages concerning spiritual issues, the nurses did not explore them. If noticed, 3 barriers for exploring spiritual issues were mentioned by the nurses: lack of time, conflict with their mindset, and being reserved to talk about such issues. During their daily caregiving to patients with a life-threatening illness, nurses have many opportunities to explore spiritual issues, but they do not often recognize them. If they do, they tend not to explore the spiritual issues. Communication training for nurses is necessary to develop skills for exploring the spiritual dimension in patients with cancer. In such training, attention to the misconception that such a conversation requires a lot of time and for recognizing signals from patients inviting an exploration of their concerns is necessary.This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.

Spiritual Dryness as a Measure of a Specific Spiritual Crisis in Catholic Priests: Associations with Symptoms of Burnout and Distress

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Arndt Büssing

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Spirituality/religiosity is recognized as a resource to cope with burdening life events and chronic illness. However, less is known about the consequences of the lack of positive spiritual feelings. Spiritual dryness in clergy has been described as spiritual lethargy, a lack of vibrant spiritual encounter with God, and an absence of spiritual resources, such as spiritual renewal practices. To operationalize experiences of “spiritual dryness” in terms of a specific spiritual crisis, we have developed the “spiritual dryness scale” (SDS. Here, we describe the validation of the instrument which was applied among other standardized questionnaires in a sample of 425 Catholic priests who professionally care for the spiritual sake of others. Feelings of “spiritual dryness” were experienced occasionally by up to 40%, often or even regularly by up to 13%. These experiences can explain 44% of variance in daily spiritual experiences, 30% in depressive symptoms, 22% in perceived stress, 20% in emotional exhaustion, 19% in work engagement, and 21% of variance of ascribed importance of religious activity. The SDS-5 can be used as a specific measure of spiritual crisis with good reliability and validity in further studies.

Meaning given to spirituality, religiousness and personal beliefs: explored by a sample of a Norwegian population.

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Torskenæs, Kristina B; Kalfoss, Mary H; Sæteren, Berit

2015-12-01

The aim of this article is to explore the meanings given to the words 'spirituality', 'religiousness' and 'personal beliefs' by a Norwegian sample of healthy and sick individuals. Studies show that a high proportion of nurses do not identify the spiritual needs of their patients, even if the nurses are educated to give care for the whole person, including the spiritual dimension. This study used an exploratory qualitative design. Qualitative data generated from six focus groups were collected in southeast Norway. The focus groups were comprised of three groups of health professionals (n = 18) and three groups of patients from different institutions (n = 15). The group discussions revealed that the meanings of spirituality, religiousness and personal beliefs were interwoven, and the participants had difficulty in finding a common terminology when expressing their meanings. Many of the participants described the spiritual dimension with feelings of awe and respect. They were dependent on spirituality in order to experience balance in life and cope with life crises. The themes and categories identified by the focus group discussion highlights that spirituality ought to be understood as a multilayered dimension. An appreciation of the spiritual dimension and it's implication in nursing may help to increase health and decrease suffering. Health professionals need to be cognizant of their own sense of spirituality to investigate the spiritual needs among their patients. This study's focus group discussions helped both patients and health professionals to improve their knowledge regarding the meanings given to the spiritual dimension. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Nursing students' spiritual talks with patients - evaluation of a partnership learning programme in clinical practice.

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Strand, Kari; Carlsen, Liv B; Tveit, Bodil

2017-07-01

To evaluate the impact of a partnership learning programme designed to support undergraduate nursing students' competence in speaking with patients about spiritual issues. Spiritual care is an oft-neglected and underexposed area of nursing practice. Despite the increasing amount of research on spiritual care in educational programmes, little is known about nursing students' experiences with existential/spiritual talks and the process of learning about spiritual care in the clinical placement. The project used a qualitative evaluation design to evaluate the impact of a partnership-initiated intervention focusing on student learning of spiritual care in a hospital ward. Data were collected through three focus group interviews with bachelor of nursing students from one Norwegian university college and supplemented with notes. Data were analysed by means of qualitative interpretative content analysis. The intervention was found to enhance students' competence in spiritual talks. The students developed an extended understanding of spirituality, became more confident in speaking with patients about spiritual issues and more active in grasping opportunities to provide spiritual care. Participating nurses significantly contributed to the students' learning process by being role models, mentoring the students and challenging them to overcome barriers in speaking with patients about spiritual issues. The partnership learning programme proved to be a useful model in terms of enhancing students' confidence in speaking with patients about spiritual concerns. Collaboration between nursing university colleges and clinical placements could help nursing students and clinical nurses to develop competencies in spiritual care and bridge the gap between academic education and clinical education, to the benefit of both. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spirituality for democracy: Spiritual resources for democratic participation in the 21st century

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Roderick R. Hewitt

2014-08-01

Full Text Available The topic invites us to explore spirituality for democracy and to identify and critique the spiritual resources that are needed for democratic participation in the 21st century. The statement specifically focused on for and not of democracy. Modern expressions of democracy are in crisis. Every context is teething with challenges and conflicts between government sand their citizens concerning how much influence through participation should be allowed in the decision-making process of governance. This topic is of extreme importance for academic discourse because the malaise that has crept into contemporary forms of democratic governance calls for urgent attention. Democratic forms of governance are not set in stone. Rather, they are formed as a result of human deliberation and praxis and cultural developments and must therefore remain open for further reformation. It is this intrinsic capacity for renewal that opens democracy to converse with spirituality. This article begins with identifying the key terms that constitute the academic building blocks of this study. The inherent contradictions in the use of these terms are noted in order to arrive at a theoretical construct to converse with the key concepts of spirituality, democracy, spiritual resources and democratic participation.Through the use of the post colonial lenses of Rastafari hermeneutics, a theoretical framework will be employed to map a life-giving path for contemporary expressions of spirituality for democracy and to identify the resources needed for democratic participation.

Kesejahteraan Spiritual Keluarga Pasien Stroke dan Kaitannya dengan Depresi

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Muhamad Zulfatul A’la

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Stroke is a one of major problem in palliative care. Spiritual and depression assessment of the family is an important element in the process of palliative care for stroke survivors. The purpose of this study was to know the description of the spiritual well-being among stroke family caregiver family and its relationship with depression. This study used cross-sectional design. Spiritual well-being scale (SWBS was used to see the spiritual well-being of the family and the Center for Epidemiologycal Studies Depression Scale (CES-D to measure depression and was filled in by 44 Stroke families. The results of the study reported that the spiritual well-being of stroke family caregiver was in the high category and depression in the medium category. There was a relationship between the spiritual well-being of the family and depression in stroke patients (p=0.000. This study suggest a comprehensive assessment of the spiritual well-being and depression in stroke family and the need for future research about family interventions to decrease depression and increase spiritual well-being.

Christian Spirituality in Eating Disorder Recovery

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Cora Grant

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Eating disorders are some of the most severe and destructive of all psychological conditions. They are associated with restricted capacities in cognitive, emotional, physical, and spiritual development. This paper provides an examination of the practical application of Christian spirituality as a force for recovery from an eating disorder. Specifically, it expounds the transformative potential in the spiritual qualities of hope, trust, acceptance, surrender, and courage underpinning engagement with evidence-based therapeutic models of care in eating disorder recovery.

Spiritual therapy to improve the spiritual well-being of Iranian women with breast cancer: a randomized controlled trial.

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Jafari, Najmeh; Farajzadegan, Ziba; Zamani, Ahmadreza; Bahrami, Fatemeh; Emami, Hamid; Loghmani, Amir; Jafari, Nooshin

2013-01-01

Purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of spiritual therapy intervention in improving the spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL) of Iranian women with breast cancer. Methods. This randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) recruited 65 women with breast cancer, randomly assigned to a 6-week spirituality-based intervention (n = 34) or control group (n = 31). Before and after six-week spiritual therapy intervention, spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL) were assessed using Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Well-being scale (FACIT-Sp12) and cancer quality-of-life questionnaire (QLQ-C30), respectively. t-test, Paired t-test, pearson's correlation, and hierarchical regression analyses were used for analysis using Predictive Analytic software (PASW, version 18) for Windows. Results. After six spiritual therapy sessions, the mean spiritual well-being score from 29.76 (SD = 6.63) to 37.24 (SD = 3.52) in the intervention group (P spiritual well-being and overall QOL. Social functioning was another significant predictor of spiritual well-being. Conclusion. The results of this randomized controlled trial study suggest that participation in spiritual therapy program is associated with improvements in spiritual well-being and QOL. Targeted interventions to acknowledge and incorporate spiritual needs into conventional treatment should be considered in caring of Iranian patients with breast cancer.

The Impact of Spiritual Care Education on the Self-Efficacy of the Family Caregivers of Elderly People with Alzheimer’s Disease

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Azam Salamizadeh

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Caring for people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease is stressful. Family caregivers of these people usually experience physical and mental burnout and lose their efficacy in doing care-related activities. The present study aimed to examine the impacts of spiritual care education on self-efficacy of the family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Methods: This study was conducted from October to December 2015 by using a two-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. In total, 60 family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease were recruited and randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups. A spiritual care educational intervention was implemented for the caregivers in the intervention group. The data were collected before and three weeks after the study intervention by using the ten-item General Self Efficacy scale. The study data were analyzed in SPSS using Chi-square and independent t-test. Results: Before the study intervention, the means of pretest self-efficacy scores in the intervention and control groups were 29.80±4.80 and 28.39±6.41, respectively. There was no significant difference between the groups regarding the mean score of self-efficacy (P=0.36. After the study, these two scores changed to 32.73±4.75 and 27.85±5.98, respectively. However, after the intervention, the mean score of self-efficacy in the intervention group was significantly higher than the control group (P=0.002. Conclusion: Spiritual care can enhance the self-efficacy of the family caregivers of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, care providers are recommended to use such spirituality-based interventions for empowering family caregivers.

Spirituality in Nursing: An Overview of Research Methods

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Helga Martins

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Spirituality has been widely considered important for patients’ health and for healthcare practice and is related to connectedness, meaning in life, and transcendence. Research concerning spirituality is growing rapidly, and the implementation of spiritual care should be based on evidence. This literature review aims to describe the methods that have been used in nursing research focusing on spirituality. The electronic search on databases through EBSCOhost identified 2091 citations, and a total of 231 studies were included. The methods used in research on spirituality in nursing are mostly quantitative (52.4%, but some are qualitative (42.8% and mixed (4.8%. Regarding the quantitative research, most studies are observational (90.9%, and these are mainly descriptive (82.7% and correlational (17.3%. Most studies used a cross-sectional design (98.7%, and few used longitudinal design (1.3%. The qualitative research is descriptive (39.4%, phenomenological (26.3%, and grounded theory (14.1%. Research on spirituality in nursing is based on both main paradigms (quantitative and qualitative, but also on mixed methods. Studies have mainly been conducted using cross-sectional designs when compared to longitudinal designs. The latter seem to constitute a gap in nursing knowledge and evidence regarding the changes of spirituality over time, which is particularly important for nurses’ delivery of spiritual care.

Longitudinal spiritual coping with trauma in people with HIV: implications for health care.

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Kremer, Heidemarie; Ironson, Gail

2014-03-01

This 10-year study (N=177) examines how people with HIV use spirituality to cope with life's trauma on top of HIV-related stress (e.g., facing death, stigma, poverty, limited healthcare) usual events. Spirituality, defined as a connection to a higher presence, is independent from religion (institutionalized spirituality). As a dynamic adaptive process, coping requires longitudinal studying. Qualitative content-analysis of interviews/essays yielded a coding of specific aspects and a longitudinal rating of overall spiritual coping. Most participants were rated as spiritual, using spiritual practices, about half experienced comfort, empowerment, growth/transformation, gratitude, less than one-third meaning, community, and positive reframing. Up to one-fifth perceived spiritual conflict, struggle, or anger, triggering post-traumatic stress, which sometimes converted into positive growth/transformation later. Over time, 65% used spiritual coping positively, 7% negatively, and 28% had no significant use. Spirituality was mainly beneficial for women, heterosexuals, and African Americans (pspirituality is a major source of positive and occasionally negative coping (e.g., viewing HIV as sin). We discuss how clinicians can recognize and prevent when spirituality is creating distress and barriers to HIV treatment, adding a literature review on ways of effective spiritual assessment. Spirituality may be a beneficial component of coping with trauma, considering socio-cultural contexts.

Multidisciplinary Training on Spiritual Care for Patients in Palliative Care Trajectories Improves the Attitudes and Competencies of Hospital Medical Staff: Results of a Quasi-Experimental Study.

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van de Geer, Joep; Veeger, Nic; Groot, Marieke; Zock, Hetty; Leget, Carlo; Prins, Jelle; Vissers, Kris

2018-02-01

Patients value health-care professionals' attention to their spiritual needs. However, this is undervalued in health-care professionals' education. Additional training is essential for implementation of a national multidisciplinary guideline on spiritual care (SC) in palliative care (PC). Aim of this study is to measure effects of a training program on SC in PC based on the guideline. A pragmatic multicenter trial using a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design as part of an action research study. Eight multidisciplinary teams in regular wards and 1 team of PC consultants, in 8 Dutch teaching hospitals, received questionnaires before training about perceived barriers for SC, spiritual attitudes and involvement, and SC competencies. The effect on the barriers on SC and SC competencies were measured both 1 and 6 months after the training. For nurses (n = 214), 7 of 8 barriers to SC were decreased after 1 month, but only 2 were still after 6 months. For physicians (n = 41), the training had no effect on the barriers to SC. Nurses improved in 4 of 6 competencies after both 1 and 6 months. Physicians improved in 3 of 6 competencies after 1 month but in only 1 competency after 6 months. Concise SC training programs for clinical teams can effect quality of care, by improving hospital staff competencies and decreasing the barriers they perceive. Differences in the effects of the SC training on nurses and physicians show the need for further research on physicians' educational needs on SC.

Spirituality and religion among HIV-infected individuals.

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Szaflarski, Magdalena

2013-12-01

Spirituality and religion are important to many people living with HIV (PLWH). Recent research has focused on special populations (ethnic-minorities, women, and youth), spirituality/religion measurement, mediating/moderating mechanisms, and individual and community-level interventions. Spirituality/religion in PLWH has been refined as a multidimensional phenomenon, which improves health/quality of life directly and through mediating factors (healthy behaviors, optimism, social support). Spirituality/religion helps people to cope with stressors, especially stigma/discrimination. Spiritual interventions utilizing the power of prayer and meditation and addressing spiritual struggle are under way. Faith-based community interventions have focused on stigma and could improve individual outcomes through access to spiritual/social support and care/treatment for PLWA. Community engagement is necessary to design/implement effective and sustainable programs. Future efforts should focus on vulnerable populations; utilize state-of-the-art methods (randomized clinical trials, community-based participatory research); and, address population-specific interventions at individual and community levels. Clinical and policy implications across geographic settings also need attention.

Psychiatry, religion, positive emotions and spirituality.

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Vaillant, George E

2013-12-01

This paper proposes that eight positive emotions: awe, love/attachment, trust/faith, compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, joy and hope constitute what we mean by spirituality. These emotions have been grossly ignored by psychiatry. The two sciences that I shall employ to demonstrate this definition of spirituality will be ethology and neuroscience. They are both very new. I will argue that spirituality is not about ideas, sacred texts and theology. Rather, spirituality is all about emotion and social connection that are more dependent on the limbic system than the cortex. Specific religions, for all their limitations, are often the portal through which positive emotions are brought into conscious attention. Neither Freud nor psychiatric textbooks ever mention emotions like joy and gratitude. Hymns and psalms give these emotions pride of place. Our whole concept of psychotherapy might change, if clinicians set about enhancing positive emotions, rather than focusing only on the negative ones. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality among adolescents.

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Knight, John R; Sherritt, Lon; Harris, Sion Kim; Holder, David W; Kulig, John; Shrier, Lydia A; Gabrielli, Joy; Chang, Grace

2007-04-01

Previous studies indicate that religiousness is associated with lower levels of substance use among adolescents, but less is known about the relationship between spirituality and substance use. The objective of this study was to determine the association between adolescents' use of alcohol and specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Twelve- to 18-year-old patients coming for routine medical care at three primary care sites completed a modified Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality; the Spiritual Connectedness Scale; and a past-90-days alcohol use Timeline Followback calendar. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between each religiousness/spirituality measure and odds of any past-90-days alcohol use, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and clinic site. Timeline Followback data were dichotomized to indicate any past-90-days alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality scale scores were z-transformed for analysis. Participants (n = 305) were 67% female, 74% Hispanic or black, and 45% from two-parent families. Mean +/- SD age was 16.0 +/- 1.8 years. Approximately 1/3 (34%) reported past-90-day alcohol use. After controlling for demographics and clinic site, Religiousness/Spirituality scales that were not significantly associated with alcohol use included: Commitment (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.36, 1.79), Organizational Religiousness (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.64, 1.07), Private Religious Practices (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.80, 1.10), and Religious and Spiritual Coping--Negative (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.91, 1.23). All of these are measures of religiousness, except for Religious and Spiritual Coping--Negative. Scales that were significantly and negatively associated with alcohol use included: Forgiveness (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.73), Religious and Spiritual Coping--Positive (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.51-0.84), Daily Spiritual Experiences (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54-0.84), and Belief (OR = 0.76, 95% CI 0.68-0.83), which are

Hope, self-efficacy, spiritual well-being and job satisfaction.

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Duggleby, Wendy; Cooper, Dan; Penz, Kelly

2009-11-01

Hope, self-efficacy, spiritual well-being and job satisfaction. This paper is a report of a study of the relations of spiritual well-being, global job satisfaction, and general self-efficacy to hope in Continuing Care Assistants. Healthcare providers have described their hope as an important part of their work and a form of work motivation. Hope may be an important factor in preventing burnout and improving job satisfaction. A concurrent triangulation mixed method design was used. Sixty-four Continuing Care Assistants (personal care aides) who registered for a 'Living with Hope' Conference completed a demographic form, Herth Hope Index, Global Job Satisfaction Questionnaire, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and a hope questionnaire. Data were collected in 2007. The response rate was 58%. Using linear regression, 29.9% of the variance in Herth Hope Index score was accounted for by scores from the General Self-Efficacy Scale and Spiritual Well-Being Scale. General Self-efficacy scores (positive relationship) and Spiritual Well-Being scores (negative relationship) accounted for a significant part of the variance. Qualitative data supported all findings, with the exception of the negative relationship between hope and spiritual well-being; participants wrote that faith, relationships, helping others and positive thinking helped them to have hope. They also wrote that hope had a positive influence on their job satisfaction and performance. Hope is an important concept in the work life of Continuing Care Assistants. Supportive relationships, adequate resources, encouragement by others, and improving perceptions of self-efficacy (ability to achieve goals in their workplace) may foster their hope.

Parental spirituality in life-threatening pediatric cancer.

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Nicholas, David B; Barrera, Maru; Granek, Leeat; D'Agostino, Norma Mammone; Shaheed, Jenny; Beaune, Laura; Bouffet, Eric; Antle, Beverley

2017-01-01

This study addressed parental spirituality in the context of pediatric cancer with a poor prognosis. Drawing upon previous research implementing a longitudinal grounded theory design examining parental hope, 35 parents were interviewed regarding their experiences with an emergent description of the role of spirituality in parents' daily lives. Spirituality included religious beliefs and practices, notions of a higher force or cosmos, relationship with a divine being, as well as elements emerging from meaning-making and relationships. Parental expectations of spirituality remained relatively constant across data collection time points (3-9 months postdiagnosis), although limited variation occurred relative to shifting circumstance (e.g., deterioration of the child's condition). Spirituality appeared to offer: greater acceptance of parents' inability to protect their child from harm related to her/his life-threatening illness, guidance and emotion decompression, and support from one's faith community. Recommendations for integrating spiritual assessment in clinical care practice are offered.

Therapeutical Intervention, Relaxation, Mental Images, and Spirituality (RIME for Spiritual Pain in Terminal Patients. A Training Program

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Ana Catarina de Araújo Elias

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Therapeutic intervention involving the technique of Relaxation, Mental Images, and Spirituality (RIME can foster the redefinition of spiritual pain in terminal patients. A training course was developed to instruct health care professionals in its use, and the results were followed up by evaluating reactions of professionals to its use in intervention with patients. Six subjects (a nurse, a doctor, three psychologists, and an alternative therapist, all skilled in palliative care, were invited to take part in the experience. They worked with 11 terminal patients in public hospitals of the cities of Campinas, Piracicaba, and São Paulo, located in Brazil. The theoretical basis for the study involves action research and phenomenology, and the results were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methods. The analysis of the experience of the professionals revealed 5 categories and 15 subcategories. The analysis of the nature of spiritual pain revealed 6 categories and 11 subcategories. The administration of RIME revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001, i.e., patients reported a greater level of well-being at the end than at the beginning of sessions, which suggests that RIME led to the redefinition of spiritual pain for these terminal patients. The training program proposed has shown itself to be effective in preparing health care professionals for the use of RIME intervention.

Death the great leveller? Towards a transcultural spirituality of dying and bereavement.

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Holloway, Margaret

2006-07-01

This paper aims to provide a critical engagement with the subject of transcultural spirituality and nursing practice in the context of dying and bereavement. There has been considerable interest in the subject of spirituality over the past decade, and a particular association between the study of death and the study of spirituality. The nursing literature has been at the forefront of these developments amongst health and social care professionals. Some of this literature has begun to address the issues raised for culturally competent practice and the significance of patients' belief systems in the diverse cultural contexts with which nurses must engage in contemporary health care. However, the author argues that understanding of the range of contemporary spiritualities and transcultural practice is at an early stage. Transcultural spirituality is explored through a critical review of the literature, including the author's own published research on spiritual and philosophical issues in death, dying and bereavement. The conclusion is drawn that some common themes and approaches can be found which offer a framework to guide nursing practice with the individual patient and family. In the absence of guidance, nurses struggle with implementing spiritual care in the fluid and complex context of contemporary spiritualities and frequently resort to broad categorizations. This paper opens up a way of connecting with the unique spiritual position of each patient.

Spirituality and secularization: nursing and the sociology of religion.

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Paley, John

2008-01-01

The concept of spirituality is much discussed in the UK nursing literature, despite the fact that Britain is one of the most secular countries in the world, and steadily becoming more so. Here, I pose the following question: given this increasing secularization, what accounts for the current interest in spirituality among UK nurses? The literature on spirituality in nursing has blossomed in the last 10 years, and various attempts have been made to define 'spirituality', 'spiritual need' and 'spiritual care'. Most definitions distinguish between 'spirituality' and 'religion', acknowledging that the latter is more institutional, and theologically more restrictive, than the former; and they suggest that spirituality is universal, something which (unlike religion) all human beings share. I draw on the sociology of religion - neglected, for the most part, in the nursing literature - to establish two main points. Firstly, that the UK and the USA are at opposite ends of the religion/secularity spectrum, implying that it is a mistake to assimilate USA and UK sources. Secondly, that the concept of spirituality, as currently understood, is of very recent origin, and is still 'under construction', having become separated from its associations with Christian piety and mysticism only since the 1980s. The extension of spirituality into secular domains is part of a professionalization project in nursing, a claim to jurisdiction over a newly invented sphere of work. For the time being, it remains an academic project (in the UK) as it is not one with which many clinicians identify. Relevance to clinical practice. What counts as 'spiritual need' or 'spiritual care' may not be the same in both countries, and UK clinicians are unlikely to welcome the role of surrogate chaplain, which their USA colleagues are apparently willing to embrace.

Spirituality in the natural sciences and nursing: an interdisciplinary perspective.

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Tyler, Indira D; Raynor, James E

2006-01-01

The Big Bang theory, a widely accepted theory of the origin of the universe, states that the universe was created between ten to twenty billion years ago from a cosmic explosion. Charles Darwin, a 19th century English naturalist, convinced the scientific community through his work that life evolved by natural selection over three and a half million years ago rather than through the influence of a Supreme Being or creator. Although there has been scientific data to support the claims of natural selection, there still remain many unanswered questions suggesting that other mechanisms contributed to the evolution of life. These unresolved findings greatly influenced mysticism and the development of the theological argument, which suggest the existence of a supreme being (God), who is believe to be an omnipotent healer, comforter, provider of salvation, and the center of mysticism spirituality. There has been consistent use of spiritual practices to address health concerns by individuals for thousands of years. There is increasing data that supports the implementation of spirituality in nursing for client care to enhance health outcome and patient wellbeing. Incorporating spiritual care into practice is an integral dimension of holistic care that is the crux of nursing practice in the 21st century. Holistic care of clients requires that nurses use the nursing process to implement spiritual care in practice.

The effect of need-based spiritual/religious intervention on spiritual well-being and anxiety of elderly people.

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Elham, Hedayati; Hazrati, Maryam; Momennasab, Marzieh; Sareh, Keshavarzi

2015-01-01

Anxiety and spiritual distress are the most common problems among the patients admitted in intensive care units. The elderly are more vulnerable to this problem due to impairment of their adaptation mechanisms. Hence, helping to reduce anxiety is one of the most effective nursing interventions. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating the effect of need-based spiritual/religious interventions on spiritual well-being (SWB) and anxiety of the elderly admitted to coronary care unit (CCU). This quasi-experimental study with pre- and posttest control group design was conducted on 66 patients admitted to CCU of Imam Reza hospital in Lar, southern Iran, in 2014. After obtaining informed consents, the data were collected using the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the SWB Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. The questionnaires were completed through interviewing the patients before and after the intervention. The participants of the intervention group underwent 60- to 90-minute sessions of spiritual and religious need-based interventions for 3 consecutive days. The results showed a significant increase in the mean scores of SWB in the intervention group after the intervention (P = .001). Also, a significant decrease was found in mean scores of trait and state anxiety in the intervention group in comparing to control group (P Spiritual/religious interventions could enhance SWB and reduce anxiety in the elderly admitted to CCU.

Religion, spirituality, health and medicine: Why should Indian physicians care?

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Chattopadhyay, S.

2007-01-01

Religion, spirituality, health and medicine have common roots in the conceptual framework of relationship amongst human beings, nature and God. Of late, there has been a surge in interest in understanding the interplay of religion, spirituality, health and medicine, both in popular and scientific

Give me a break!: Informal caregiver attitudes towards respite care

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van Exel, J..; de Graaf, G.; Brouwer, W.B.F.

2009-01-01

Background/objective: Because informal health care is now recognized to be indispensable to health care systems, different forms of respite care have been developed and publicly funded that supposedly alleviate caregivers' perceived burdens and help prolong the care giving task. Nonetheless, the use

An investigation into the spiritual needs of neuro-oncology patients from a nurse perspective

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Nixon Aline Victoria

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Spiritual needs of cancer patients should be assessed and discussed by healthcare professionals. Neurosurgical nurses need to be able to assess and support neuro-oncology patients with their spiritual needs from diagnosis and throughout their hospital stay. Methods Data were collected through questionnaires using a Critical Incident Technique (CIT from neurosurgical nurses, findings were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Nurses reported some awareness of their patients’ spiritual needs during their stay on neurosurgical units although some used expressions approximating what could be described as spiritual needs. Patients’ spiritual needs were identified as: need to talk about spiritual concerns, showing sensitivity to patients’ emotions, responding to religious needs; and relatives’ spiritual needs included: supporting them with end of life decisions, supporting them when feeling being lost and unbalanced, encouraging exploration of meaning of life, and providing space, time and privacy to talk. Participants appeared largely to be in tune with their patients’ spiritual needs and reported that they recognised effective strategies to meet their patients’ and relatives’ spiritual needs. However, the findings also suggest that they don’t always feel prepared to offer spiritual support for neuro-oncology patients. Conclusions There is a need for healthcare professionals to provide spiritual care for neuro-oncology patients and their relatives. Although strategies were identified that nurses can use to support patients with spiritual needs further research is required to explore how effective nurses are at delivering spiritual care and if nurses are the most appropriate professionals to support neuro-oncology patients with spiritual care.

Spiritual assessment of patients with cancer: the moral authority, vocational, aesthetic, social, and transcendent model.

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Skalla, Karen; McCoy, J Patrick

2006-07-01

To explore the nature of spiritual care in patients with cancer and discuss the Moral Authority, Vocational, Aesthetic, Social, and Transcendent (Mor-VAST) Model, a new theoretical model for assessment. Published articles, online references. Discussions regarding spirituality often do not occur for a variety of reasons but may affect physical and spiritual health of an individual. Assessment of spirituality should be an integral part of cancer care. The Mor-VAST model can assist clinicians in discussing spirituality. Nurses should be aware of resources for referral to chaplaincy, but they can be a part of the process of spiritual support. Educational opportunities are available for nurses who wish to address their own spirituality so they can address spirituality comfortably and confidently with their patients.

Alcohol Use and Religiousness/Spirituality Among Adolescents

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Knight, John R.; Sherritt, Lon; Harris, Sion Kim; Holder, David W.; Kulig, John; Shrier, Lydia A.; Gabrielli, Joy; Chang, Grace

2014-01-01

Background Previous studies indicate that religiousness is associated with lower levels of substance use among adolescents, but less is known about the relationship between spirituality and substance use. The objective of this study was to determine the association between adolescents’ use of alcohol and specific aspects of religiousness and spirituality. Methods Twelve- to 18-year-old patients coming for routine medical care at three primary care sites completed a modified Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality; the Spiritual Connectedness Scale; and a past-90-days alcohol use Timeline Followback calendar. We used multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between each religiousness/spirituality measure and odds of any past-90-days alcohol use, controlling for age, gender, race/ethnicity, and clinic site. Timeline Followback data were dichotomized to indicate any past-90-days alcohol use and religiousness/spirituality scale scores were z-transformed for analysis. Results Participants (n = 305) were 67% female, 74% Hispanic or black, and 45% from two-parent families. Mean ± SD age was 16.0 ± 1.8 years. Approximately 1/3 (34%) reported past-90-day alcohol use. After controlling for demographics and clinic site, Religiousness/Spirituality scales that were not significantly associated with alcohol use included: Commitment (OR = 0.81, 95% CI 0.36, 1.79), Organizational Religiousness (OR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.64, 1.07), Private Religious Practices (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.80, 1.10), and Religious and Spiritual Coping – Negative (OR = 1.07, 95% CI 0.91, 1.23). All of these are measures of religiousness, except for Religious and Spiritual Coping – Negative. Scales that were significantly and negatively associated with alcohol use included: Forgiveness (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.42–0.73), Religious and Spiritual Coping –Positive (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.51–0.84), Daily Spiritual Experiences (OR = 0.67, 95% CI 0.54–0.84), and Belief

A comprehensive approach in hospice shared care in Taiwan: Nonelderly patients have more physical, psychosocial and spiritual suffering

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Chiu-Hsien Yang

2013-08-01

Full Text Available While symptomatic differences exist between younger and older advanced cancer patients, few studies have examined the differences in their care with respect to age. Our goals were to examine the influences of age differences on physical, psychosocial and spiritual distress among advanced cancer patients. Advanced cancer patients who resided in Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital during 2007–2008 were recruited. Data were collected through professional consultants. The influences of age variations on physical, psychosocial and spiritual distress in nonelderly (<60 years old and elderly (≧60 years old patients were analyzed. A total of 1013 advanced cancer patients were included in the analyses with 467 nonelderly patients and 546 elderly patients. Nonelderly patients were identified to have a higher baseline pain level (4.0 vs. 2.8, p<0.001, breakthrough pain (19.3% vs. 9.9%, p<0.01, insomnia (6.4% vs. 2.7%, p=0.006, emotional distress (69.0% vs. 60.6%, p=0.013, and unwillingness to pass away because of concern for loved ones (18.8% vs. 11.9%, p=0.003 with significant difference. Elderly ones were concerned about unfulfilled wishes (29.7% vs. 18.4%, p<0.001 in spiritual concerns. After adjustments in regression models, nonelderly age (<60 years old still revealed significant positive or negative impact on all categories of distress. Patients aged under 60 years have more physical, psychosocial and spiritual suffering. This study suggested that professional practitioners should provide intensive care for vulnerable terminally ill cancer patients.

PENGEMBANGAN KECERDASAN SPIRITUAL SISWA DI SD ISLAM TOMPOKERSAN LUMAJANG

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Lufiana Harnani Utami

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Spiritual quotient function transforming spiritual values such as honesty, affection, fairness, responsibility, peacefulness, trust, and togetherness. Developing Spiritual quotient aims to make students have full understanding about lesson of Islam and be able to apply it in daily life. Students hoped to be the one who believe in Allah SWT and actualize themselves based on lesson and norm in Islam with Islamic personality and akhlakul karimah. This research uses qualitative approach by having interview with subjects. Result shows that spiritual quotient development is carried through structural and unstructural programs. Structural programs applied in learning activity while unstructural ones done through extracuriculer activites. Methods of development are giving assignment, nurturing, transforming knowledge, having creative activity, making relationship having leadership.

Conflicts between religious or spiritual beliefs and pediatric care: informed refusal, exemptions, and public funding.

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2013-11-01

Although respect for parents' decision-making authority is an important principle, pediatricians should report suspected cases of medical neglect, and the state should, at times, intervene to require medical treatment of children. Some parents' reasons for refusing medical treatment are based on their religious or spiritual beliefs. In cases in which treatment is likely to prevent death or serious disability or relieve severe pain, children's health and future autonomy should be protected. Because religious exemptions to child abuse and neglect laws do not equally protect all children and may harm some children by causing confusion about the duty to provide medical treatment, these exemptions should be repealed. Furthermore, public health care funds should not cover alternative unproven religious or spiritual healing practices. Such payments may inappropriately legitimize these practices as appropriate medical treatment.

Spiritual Therapy to Improve the Spiritual Well-Being of Iranian Women with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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Najmeh Jafari

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of spiritual therapy intervention in improving the spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL of Iranian women with breast cancer. Methods. This randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT recruited 65 women with breast cancer, randomly assigned to a 6-week spirituality-based intervention (n=34 or control group (n=31. Before and after six-week spiritual therapy intervention, spiritual well-being and quality of life (QOL were assessed using Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Spiritual Well-being scale (FACIT-Sp12 and cancer quality-of-life questionnaire (QLQ-C30, respectively. t-test, Paired t-test, pearson's correlation, and hierarchical regression analyses were used for analysis using Predictive Analytic software (PASW, version 18 for Windows. Results. After six spiritual therapy sessions, the mean spiritual well-being score from 29.76 (SD=6.63 to 37.24 (SD=3.52 in the intervention group (P<0.001. There was a significant difference between arms of study (F=22.91, P<0.001. A significant positive correlation was detected between meaning and peace with all subscales of functional subscales on European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of Life (EORTC QLQ-C30 (P<0.05. Hierarchical regression analyses of participants indicated that the study arm, pain, and financial impact were significant predictors of spiritual well-being and overall QOL. Social functioning was another significant predictor of spiritual well-being. Conclusion. The results of this randomized controlled trial study suggest that participation in spiritual therapy program is associated with improvements in spiritual well-being and QOL. Targeted interventions to acknowledge and incorporate spiritual needs into conventional treatment should be considered in caring of Iranian patients with breast cancer.

Nurses' Work Environment and Spirituality: A Descriptive Study

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Zastrow Patricia

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Quality of care is a major health concern in the hospital setting. A work environment thatsupports professional nursing as well as the spirituality of nurses, or the meaning/purpose nurses find intheir work may contribute to quality of patient care. Yet, little is known about the nursing workenvironment and even less about the spirituality of nurses. Thus, the aims of this study were to measuremedical-surgical nurses’ perceived professional work environment score and perceived spiritual well-beingscore and determine if the two instruments are related. This cross-sectional survey consisted of aconvenience sample of 68 nurses who completed the Professional Practice Environment Scale (PPE andSpiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB on the hospital website during working hours. Several PPE subscalescores differed significantly among the various clinical units. As the nurse’s age, and years of clinicalexperience increased, specific PPE subscale scores also increased. The nurses’ mean SWB scores were allwithin the moderate range and did not differ significantly among the clinical units. The overall PPE andSWB scores were not significantly correlated. Nursing administrators can use the PPE scores from thisstudy to address the specific needs of individual clinical units. Older and more experienced nurses mayserve as resources for younger, less experienced nurses. Both instruments can be administered repeatedlyover time to monitor trends. Based on the SWB data, nurses in this study reported average levels ofspiritual well-being. However, there is a need to learn more about the specific spiritual needs of nurses.Spirituality of nurses as well as the nurse’s work environment are separate concepts that each merit furtherinvestigation and may add to the knowledge base for increased quality patient care.

Positive emotions, spirituality and the practice of psychiatry.

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Vaillant, George E

2008-01-01

THIS PAPER PROPOSES THAT EIGHT POSITIVE EMOTIONS: awe, love (attachment), trust (faith), compassion, gratitude, forgiveness, joy and hope constitute what we mean by spirituality. These emotions have been grossly ignored by psychiatry. The two sciences that I shall employ to demonstrate this definition of spirituality will be ethology and neuroscience. They are both very new. I will argue that spirituality is not about ideas, sacred texts and theology; rather, spirituality is all about emotion and social connection.Specific religions, for all their limitations, are often the portal through which positive emotions are brought into conscious attention. Neither Freud nor psychiatric textbooks ever mention emotions like joy and gratitude. Hymns and psalms give these emotions pride of place. Our whole concept of psychotherapy might change if clinicians set about enhancing positive emotions rather than focusing only on negative emotions.

Sound Heart: Spiritual Nursing Care Model from Religious Viewpoint.

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Asadzandi, Minoo

2017-12-01

Different methods of epistemology create different philosophical views. None of the nursing theories have employed the revelational epistemology and the philosophical views of Abrahamic religions. According to Abrahamic religions, the universe and human being have been created based on God's affection. Human being should deserve the position of God's representative on earth after achieving all ethical merits. Humans have willpower to shape their destiny by choosing manner of their relationship with God, people, themselves and the whole universe. They can adopt the right behavior by giving a divine color to their thoughts and intentions and thus attain peace and serenity in their heart. Health means having a sound heart (calm spirit with a sense of hope and love, security and happiness) that is achievable through faith and piety. Moral vices lead to diseases. Human beings are able to purge their inside (heart) through establishing a relationship with God and then take actions to reform the outside world. The worlds are run by God's will based on prudence and mercy. All events happen with God's authorization, and human beings have to respond to them. Nurses should try to recognize the patient's spiritual response to illness that can appear as symptoms of an unsound heart (fear, sadness, disappointment, anger, jealousy, cruelty, grudge, suspicion, etc.) due to the pains caused by illness and then alleviate the patient's suffering by appropriate approaches. Nurses help the patient to achieve the sound heart by hope in divine mercy and love, and they help the patient see good in any evil and relieve their fear and sadness by viewing their illness positively and then attain the status of calm, satisfaction, peace and serenity in their heart and being content with the divine fate. By invitation to religious morality, the model leads the patients to spiritual health.

Embedded spirituality: gardening in daily life and stressful life experiences.

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Unruh, Anita; Hutchinson, Susan

2011-09-01

There is a limited body of research examining the relationship between spirituality and leisure, or the impact of leisure in the context of daily life, and life with stressful events. To examine the meaning of gardens and gardening across different life experiences using hermeneutic phenomenology to focus on the lived experience of leisure gardening. Most participants were interviewed once in each season over a 1 year period usually in their home. There were 42 participants (27 women and 15 men) in this study. Fifteen individuals had been diagnosed with cancer and were in varying stages of diagnosis and treatment. Three people had a chronic and progressive disease. Four women were grieving the death of their spouse. Participants ranged in age from 32 to 80 years. In this paper, we focus on the spirituality-related themes in this study: spirituality as connectedness; spirituality as an expression of inner being; the garden as a spiritual place and gardening as spiritual activity; gardening as a spiritual journey; and, stewardship. Participants with religious views saw their garden as an extension of their spirituality and a confirmation of their beliefs. Participants with secular or sacred views of spirituality that was not related to any religious beliefs were more likely to embed their spirituality in their relationship with nature as manifested in their garden. This study extends current theory regarding leisure and its contribution to meaning focused coping, and spirituality as a significant component of leisure in living with stressful health and life events. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2011 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Role of Religiousness/Spirituality in Resilience of Fisheries College Cadets

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Sri W Rahmawati

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Experts agree that resilience involves internal factors and external factors. In addition to those two factors, religious beliefs, spirituality and the capacity to give a meaning to the traumatic event, it is also discussed as a factor involved in the development of resilience. A number of researchers explore their findings to see the relationships between religiousness/ spirituality and resilience. People experiencing emptiness of spiritual, increasingly awareness of the importance of the involvement of religion/spiritual in solving problems, but it’s increasingly depletion due to exposure to materialistic life. This research is conducted to see the influence of religiousness/spirituality on resilience occuring among college students. The results showed that the following dimensions are related to the increasing resilience of a person: daily experience of human spiritual, beliefs/values, willingness to forgive, and the worship of religious activities as well as evaluating a person's level of religiousness. Discussion and implication of the research results are included.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUALITY IN PATIENTS WITH CÂNCER

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Ariane Costa Pinto

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Research in order to identify the importance of spirituality in cancer patients to fight illness and treatment process. Qualitative, descriptive research and field. Semi-structured interview was held with ten cancer patients being treated in away from home in a city in the extreme south of Santa Catarina. The analysis and interpretation of data was carried out from the analysis of content, through the categorization of data. Spirituality can be a form of coping strategy of the patient before the cancer, assigning meaning to the process of illness and suffering. The nursing care must understand the spiritual dimension seeking subsidies to care fully both the cancer patient like family.

Spiritual needs of cancer patients: A qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khadijeh Hatamipour

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Diagnosis of cancer can cause huge spiritual crisis in a person and affect different aspects of life. At this stage, patients have certain spiritual needs. Aim: This study was conducted to explain spiritual needs of cancer patients in Iran. Materials and Methods: In this qualitative study, 18 cancer patients, referred to the Cancer Institute of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran were selected using purposive sampling method, and their spiritual needs emerged out of conventional content analysis of interviews conducted with them. Results: From 1850 initial codes, 4 themes (connection, peace, meaning and purpose, and transcendence were identified that contained categories of social support, normal behavior, inner peace, seeking forgiveness, hope, acceptance of reality, seeking meaning, ending well, change of life meaning, strengthening spiritual belief, communication with God, and prayer. Conclusions: Spiritual needs of cancer patients should be recognized, realized, and considered in care of patients by the medical team. An all-out support of health system policy makers to meet patients′ spiritual needs is particularly important.

Spiritual Health in Nursing From the Viewpoint of Islam.

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Heydari, Abbas; Khorashadizadeh, Fatemeh; Heshmati Nabavi, Fatemeh; Mazlom, Seyed Reza; Ebrahimi, Mahdi

2016-06-01

encompasses all aspects of human beings. Thus, it is necessary to carefully study the difference between the Islamic concept of spiritual health and that of other religions and ideologies to design suitable and useful nursing care for Iranian patients that satisfy their spiritual needs.

Spiritual distress of military veterans at the end of life.

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Chang, Bei-Hung; Stein, Nathan R; Skarf, Lara M

2015-06-01

Although combat experiences can have a profound impact on individuals' spirituality, there is a dearth of research in this area. Our recent study indicates that one unique spiritual need of veterans who are at the end of life is to resolve distress caused by combat-related events that conflict with their personal beliefs. This study sought to gain an understanding of chaplains' perspectives on this type of spiritual need, as well as the spiritual care that chaplains provide to help veterans ease this distress. We individually interviewed five chaplains who have provided spiritual care to veterans at the end of life in a Veterans Administration hospital. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed based on "grounded theory." Chaplains reported that they frequently encounter veterans at the end of life who are still suffering from thoughts or images of events that occurred during their military career. Although some veterans are hesitant to discuss their experiences, chaplains reported that they have had some success with helping the veterans to open up. Additionally, chaplains reported using both religious (e.g., confessing sins) and nonreligious approaches (e.g., recording military experience) to help veterans to heal. Our pilot study provides some insight into the spiritual distress that many military veterans may be experiencing, as well as methods that a chaplain can employ to help these veterans. Further studies are needed to confirm our findings and to examine the value of integrating the chaplain service into mental health care for veterans.

Spirituality and practice. Stories, barriers and opportunities. Interview by Laurence A. Savett.

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Hatgidakis, J; Timko, E R; Plotnikoff, G A; Gale, C

1997-01-01

What are "spiritual matters?" Are "spiritual matters" the same as "religious matters?" What is spiritual inquiry? Are such questions appropriate for those of us in the caring professions, other than clergy, to consider? If we accept that role, how far should we go? When should we call for help? Whom should we call? We convened a gathering of a hospital chaplain, a social worker, a hospice nurse and a physician to discuss many of the dimensions of spirituality and then to apply their personal and professional paradigms of care to a discussion of an actual case. This article is a record of that conversation. It is actually several articles in one, for it deals with their own views of the meaning of spirituality, the degree to which their spirituality has impact on their practice, what they see as the merit of spiritual matters in the caring professions, barriers to collaboration among their professions and to addressing these issues with patients, and boundaries beyond which one should not go. One way to read this conversation is to include yourself; that is, to reflect on the points the participants make and the ways in which you might integrate their insights into your personal practice. We hope that you find this task worthwhile and that it provokes further thought and discussion. The discussion began with participant introductions.

Discussing spirituality with patients: a rational and ethical approach.

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McCord, Gary; Gilchrist, Valerie J; Grossman, Steven D; King, Bridget D; McCormick, Kenelm E; Oprandi, Allison M; Schrop, Susan Labuda; Selius, Brian A; Smucker, D O William D; Weldy, David L; Amorn, Melissa; Carter, Melissa A; Deak, Andrew J; Hefzy, Hebah; Srivastava, Mohit

2004-01-01

This study was undertaken to determine when patients feel that physician inquiry about spirituality or religious beliefs is appropriate, reasons why they want their physicians to know about their spiritual beliefs, and what they want physicians to do with this information. Trained research assistants administered a questionnaire to a convenience sample of consenting patients and accompanying adults in the waiting rooms of 4 family practice residency training sites and 1 private group practice in northeastern Ohio. Demographic information, the SF-12 Health Survey, and participant ratings of appropriate situations, reasons, and expectations for physician discussions of spirituality or religious beliefs were obtained. Of 1,413 adults who were asked to respond, 921 completed questionnaires, and 492 refused (response rate = 65%). Eighty-three percent of respondents wanted physicians to ask about spiritual beliefs in at least some circumstances. The most acceptable scenarios for spiritual discussion were life-threatening illnesses (77%), serious medical conditions (74%) and loss of loved ones (70%). Among those who wanted to discuss spirituality, the most important reason for discussion was desire for physician-patient understanding (87%). Patients believed that information concerning their spiritual beliefs would affect physicians' ability to encourage realistic hope (67%), give medical advice (66%), and change medical treatment (62%). This study helps clarify the nature of patient preferences for spiritual discussion with physicians.

A contemplative care approach to training and supporting hospice volunteers: a prospective study of spiritual practice, well-being, and fear of death.

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Scherwitz, Larry; Pullman, Marcie; McHenry, Pamela; Gao, Billy; Ostaseski, Frank

2006-01-01

Inspired by a 2,500-year-old Buddhist tradition, the Zen Hospice Project (ZHP) provides residential hospice care, volunteer programs, and educational efforts that cultivate wisdom and compassion in service. The present study was designed to understand how being with dying hospice residents affects hospice volunteers well-being and the role of spiritual practice in ameliorating the fear of death. A one-year longitudinal study of two volunteer cohorts (N = 24 and N = 22) with repeated measures of spiritual practice, well-being, and hospice performance during one-year service as volunteers. The Zen Hospice Guest House and Laguna Honda Residential Hospital of San Francisco, CA. All 46 individuals who became ZHP volunteers during two years. A 40-hour training program for beginning hospice volunteers stressing compassion, equanimity, mindfulness, and practical bedside care; a one-year caregiver assignment five hours per week; and monthly group meeting. Self-report FACIT spiritual well-being, general well-being, self-transcendence scale, and a volunteer coordinator-rated ZHP performance scale. The volunteers had a high level of self-care and well-being at baseline and maintained both throughout the year; they increased compassion and decreased fear of death. Those (n = 20) practicing yoga were found to have consistently lower fear of death than the group average (P = .04, P = .008, respectively). All rated the training and program highly, and 63% continued to volunteer after the first year's commitment. The results suggest that this approach to training and supporting hospice volunteers fosters emotional well-being and spiritual growth.

Do spiritual patients want spiritual interventions?: A qualitative exploration of underserved cancer patients' perspectives on religion and spirituality.

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Stein, Emma M; Kolidas, Evelyn; Moadel, Alyson

2015-02-01

This study examines religion and spirituality among advanced cancer patients from an underserved, ethnically-diverse population by exploring patient conceptualizations of religion and spirituality, the role of religion and spirituality in coping with cancer, and patient interest in spiritual support. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients who had participated in a study of a "mind-body" support group for patients with all cancer types. Analysis based on grounded theory was utilized to identify themes and theoretical constructs. With regard to patient conceptualizations of religion and spirituality, three categories emerged: (1) Spirituality is intertwined with organized religion; (2) Religion is one manifestation of the broader construct of spirituality; (3) Religion and spirituality are completely independent, with spirituality being desirable and religion not. Religion and spirituality played a central role in patients' coping with cancer, providing comfort, hope, and meaning. Patients diverged when it came to spiritual support, with some enthusiastic about interventions incorporating their spiritual values and others stating that they already get this support through religious communities. Spirituality plays a central role in the cancer experience of this underserved ethnically-diverse population. While spirituality seems to be a universal concern in advanced cancer patients, the meaning of spirituality differs across individuals, with some equating it with organized religion and others taking a more individualized approach. It is important that psychosocial interventions are developed to address this concern. Future research is needed to further explore the different ways that patients conceptualize spirituality and to develop spiritually-based treatments that are not "one size fits all."

Daily Spiritual Experiences and Adolescent Treatment Response.

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Lee, Matthew T; Veta, Paige S; Johnson, Byron R; Pagano, Maria E

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study is to explore changes in belief orientation during treatment and the impact of increased daily spiritual experiences (DSE) on adolescent treatment response. One-hundred ninety-five adolescents court-referred to a 2-month residential treatment program were assessed at intake and discharge. Forty percent of youth who entered treatment as agnostic or atheist identified themselves as spiritual or religious at discharge. Increased DSE was associated with greater likelihood of abstinence, increased prosocial behaviors, and reduced narcissistic behaviors. Results indicate a shift in DSE that improves youth self-care and care for others that may inform intervention approaches for adolescents with addiction.

Daily Spiritual Experiences and Adolescent Treatment Response

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LEE, MATTHEW T.; VETA, PAIGE S.; JOHNSON, BYRON R.; PAGANO, MARIA E.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore changes in belief orientation during treatment and the impact of increased daily spiritual experiences (DSE) on adolescent treatment response. One-hundred ninety-five adolescents court-referred to a 2-month residential treatment program were assessed at intake and discharge. Forty percent of youth who entered treatment as agnostic or atheist identified themselves as spiritual or religious at discharge. Increased DSE was associated with greater likelihood of abstinence, increased prosocial behaviors, and reduced narcissistic behaviors. Results indicate a shift in DSE that improves youth self-care and care for others that may inform intervention approaches for adolescents with addiction. PMID:25525291

Recovery Spirituality

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Ernest Kurtz

2015-01-01

Full Text Available There is growing interest in Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A. and other secular, spiritual, and religious frameworks of long-term addiction recovery. The present paper explores the varieties of spiritual experience within A.A., with particular reference to the growth of a wing of recovery spirituality promoted within A.A. It is suggested that the essence of secular spirituality is reflected in the experience of beyond (horizontal and vertical transcendence and between (connection and mutuality and in six facets of spirituality (Release, Gratitude, Humility, Tolerance, Forgiveness, and a Sense of Being-at-home shared across religious, spiritual, and secular pathways of addiction recovery. The growing varieties of A.A. spirituality (spanning the “Christianizers” and “Seculizers” reflect A.A.’s adaptation to the larger diversification of religious experience and the growing secularization of spirituality across the cultural contexts within which A.A. is nested.

Focus Groups as Transformative Spiritual Encounters

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Sharon Moloney PhD

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Focus groups are a valuable method for exploring the construction and negotiation of meanings. In her doctoral research the author explored how Australian women's experiences of menstruation, birth, and spirituality are invested with meaning and how that meaning influences and shapes those experiences. The focus group has been described as a potentially liminal space, which enables the discussion of taboo subjects by breaking the ice and giving people permission to comment. In addition, she discovered that the groups could be occasions of empowerment and transformation for both participants and researcher. In a way that far exceeded her expectations, the group format was ideally suited to feminist research and the organic inquiry methodology she used. Some groups became deeply spiritual encounters that were nourishing and transformative for all. This article explores how focus groups can be vehicles of spiritual transformation, examining one group in particular to highlight the points raised.

Treading lightly: spirituality issues in mental health nursing.

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Wilding, Clare; Muir-Cochrane, Eimear; May, Esther

2006-06-01

Spirituality has been recognized as an important part of nursing practice since its early beginnings. However, debate continues about whether and how nurses and other mental health professionals should include spirituality within their daily work. This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of spirituality within mental health nursing, through considering findings from a Heideggerian phenomenological study conducted with six people with mental illness living in regional Australia. This study aimed to provide a greater understanding of the phenomenon of spirituality by answering a primary research question, 'What does spirituality mean for people with a mental illness?' Participants were interviewed and data analysed using an iterative approach. Findings emerged through multiple readings and meanings were gradually constructed from the data into themes. The themes describe that spirituality is experienced uniquely for the participants, and that spirituality became vitally important to them when they became mentally unwell. In addition, issues of interest to mental health nurses were raised but not completely addressed by the study. The issues relate to potential interactions about spirituality between nurses and their patients. Although participants wanted to discuss their experiences of spirituality with others, they raised concerns about whether their mental health care providers would be accepting of their beliefs. Spirituality was deemed to be a highly individual phenomenon; it could be experienced as a journey and it was life-sustaining. For these reasons, it is proposed that mental health professionals must be prepared to discuss patients' spiritual needs in the context of their health concerns.

A knowledge synthesis of culturally- and spiritually-sensitive end-of-life care: findings from a scoping review

OpenAIRE

Fang, Mei Lan; Sixsmith, Judith; Sinclair, Shane; Horst, Glen

2016-01-01

Background Multiple factors influence the end-of-life (EoL) care and experience of poor quality services by culturally- and spiritually-diverse groups. Access to EoL services e.g. health and social supports at home or in hospices is difficult for ethnic minorities compared to white European groups. A tool is required to empower patients and families to access culturally-safe care. This review was undertaken by the Canadian Virtual Hospice as a foundation for this tool. Methods To explore atti...

Distinguishing Between Spiritual Distress, General Distress, Spiritual Well-Being, and Spiritual Pain Among Cancer Patients During Oncology Treatment.

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Schultz, Michael; Meged-Book, Tehilah; Mashiach, Tanya; Bar-Sela, Gil

2017-07-01

Spiritual distress is present in approximately 25% of oncology patients. We examined the extent to which this measure is identical to a variety of other measures, such as spiritual well-being, spiritual injury, spiritual pain, and general distress. Structured interview of oncology outpatients over 12 months, approached nonselectively. The presence or absence of spiritual distress was compared against spiritual pain and two spiritual well-being tools: Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual Well-Being 12-Item Scale (FACIT-Sp-12) and the Spiritual Injury Scale (SIS). We also examined whether a general distress visual analogue scale sufficed to identify spiritual distress. Other questions concerned demographic and clinical data. Of 416 patients approached, 202 completed the interview, of whom 23% reported spiritual distress. All measures showed significant correlation (receiver operating characteristic, area under the curve: SIS 0.79; distress thermometer [DT] 0.68; FACIT-Sp-12 0.67), yet none were identical with spiritual distress (sensitivity/specificity: SIS 64%/79%; spiritual pain 72%/76%; DT 41%/76%; FACIT-Sp-12 57%/72%). Of the FACIT-Sp-12 subscales, only peace correlated with spiritual distress. A significant predictor of spiritual distress was patients' self-evaluation of grave clinical condition (odds ratio 3.3; 95% CI 1.1-9.5). Multivariable analysis of individual measure items suggests an alternative three-parameter model for spiritual distress: not feeling peaceful, feeling unable to accept that this is happening, and perceived severity of one's illness. The DT is not sufficient to identify spiritual distress. The peace subscale of FACIT-Sp-12 is a better match than the measure as a whole. The SIS is the best match for spiritual distress, although an imperfect one. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

口服化疗乳腺癌患者灵性需求和照护的真实体验%Real Experiences of Nursing Practice and Demand of Spiritual Care in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Oral Chemotherapy

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

魏春岚; 方琼; 袁长蓉

2015-01-01

目的：深入了解与探讨口服化疗乳腺癌患者对于灵性需求和照护的真实体验。方法2014年1－7月，采用目的抽样法选取在上海市某三级甲等医院住院的9名乳腺癌患者为研究对象，采用现象学研究方法，对其进行半结构式访谈，现场录音，借助 NVivo 8．0软件，根据 Colaizzi 的7步分析法对资料进行分析，提炼主题。结果口服化疗乳腺癌患者的灵性需求可归纳为4个主题：精神寄托的需求，提升希望的需求，面对死亡的需求和自我实现的需求；灵性照护可归纳为3个主题：尊重宗教信仰，提升希望及死亡教育。结论口服化疗乳腺癌患者的居家支持性护理应该满足患者的灵性需求，给予灵性照护。%Objective To deeply explore the real experiences of spiritual care of breast cancer patients re-ceiving oral chemotherapy.Methods Phenomenological method of semi-structured interview and onsite re-cord was adopted to understand and integrate spiritual care needs among 9 breast cancer patients receiving oral chemotherapy.Data were analyzed by Colaizzi’s analysis procedure and using NVivo 8.0.Results The themes of spiritual needs emerged as needs of spiritual sustenance,hope promotion,death confrontation and self-actualization.The themes of spiritual needs emerged as respecting the religious beliefs,promoting hope and death education.Conclusion Spiritual care needs should be satisfied while giving a holistic home-based care to breast cancer patients receiving oral chemotherapy.

Spirituality in pre-registration nurse education and practice: A review of the literature.

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Lewinson, Lesline P; McSherry, Wilfred; Kevern, Peter

2015-06-01

Spirituality is known to be an integral part of holistic care, yet research shows that it is not well valued or represented in nurse education and practice. However, the nursing profession continues to make efforts to redress the balance by issuing statements and guidance for the inclusion of spirituality by nurses in their practice. A systematic literature review was undertaken and confirms that nurses are aware of their lack of knowledge, understanding and skills in the area of spirituality and spiritual care, and desire to be better informed and skilled in this area. Consequently, in order for nurses to support the spiritual dimension of their role, nurse education has a vital part to play in raising spiritual awareness and facilitating competence and confidence in this domain. The literature review also reveals that studies involving pre-registration are few, but those available do provide examples of innovation and various teaching methods to deliver this topic in nursing curricular. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Spiritual leadership: a new model.

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Wolf, Emily J

2004-01-01

Recent unethical business practices of some corporations and the overall loss of confidence by the public in corporate leadership have given rise to a unique leadership model--one that focuses on spirituality. "Ninety percent of our diverse American population and health-care workforce have spiritual and religious beliefs. While these beliefs may be mystical, religious, or secular, there are many common patterns that influence change and leadership within our organizations." So says Gary Strack, CHE, president and chief executive officer of Boca Raton (FL) Community Hospital. Strack presented a seminar on the topic at ACHE's 2003 Congress on Healthcare Management.

Hospital Social Work and Spirituality: Views of Medical Social Workers.

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Pandya, Samta P

2016-01-01

This article is based on a study of 1,389 medical social workers in 108 hospitals across 12 countries, on their views on spirituality and spiritually sensitive interventions in hospital settings. Results of the logistic regression analyses and structural equation models showed that medical social workers from European countries, United States of America, Canada, and Australia, those had undergone spiritual training, and those who had higher self-reported spiritual experiences scale scores were more likely to have the view that spirituality in hospital settings is for facilitating integral healing and wellness of patients and were more likely to prefer spiritual packages of New Age movements as the form of spiritual program, understand spiritual assessment as assessing the patients' spiritual starting point, to then build on further interventions and were likely to attest the understanding of spiritual techniques as mindfulness techniques. Finally they were also likely to understand the spiritual goals of intervention in a holistic way, that is, as that of integral healing, growth of consciousness and promoting overall well-being of patients vis-à-vis only coping and coming to terms with health adversities. Results of the structural equation models also showed covariances between religion, spirituality training, and scores on the self-reported spiritual experiences scale, having thus a set of compounding effects on social workers' views on spiritual interventions in hospitals. The implications of the results for health care social work practice and curriculum are discussed.

“HABITUS” IN SOUL CARE. TOWARDS “SPIRITUAL ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

by ideas emanating from the fields of psychology and sources of secular therapeutic ... second assumption is that Christian spirituality, as a theological category, ..... in American psychology due to the impact of Anton Boisen's thesis of the.

Spirituality in Nursing: Filipino Elderly's Concept of, Distance from, and Involvement with God

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de Guzman, Allan B.; Dalay, Naihra Jae Z.; De Guzman, Anthony Joe M.; de Jesus, Luigi Lauren E.; de Mesa, Jacqueline Barbara C.; Flores, Jan Derick D.

2009-01-01

Spirituality is an aspect of holistic care delivery by health team members. However, despite the established relationship of spirituality and health, there had been little evidence of ways of assessing spirituality for nurses' clinical practice in Asia, particularly in regard to geriatric patients. This study aimed to establish an eiditic…

Zkušenost s duchovním doprovázením v perspektivě ignaciánské spirituality

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František Hylmar

2015-01-01

After a brief presentation of basic forms of spiritual direction and after stressing the importance of personal spiritual experience, the article describes Ignatian concept of human being in relation with God and God’s adversary and gives an overview of Ignatian spiritual exercises as a general dynamic of human spiritual journey. On this basis, the paper presents fundamental elements of spiritual direction from the perspective of Ignatian spirituality: attitude of openness, awareness of exter...

Spiritual Values and Spiritual Practices: Interactive Effects on Leadership Effectiveness

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Zakiyulfikri Ali

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The relationship between spirituality and leadership effectiveness has been discussed over decades. These relations have been separated in two big perspective—first, an esoteric realm of intangible ideas and emotions; and second, a practical area and scientific inquiry. This research tries to integrate these two different perspectives. Specifically, this research examines the effects of spiritual values and spiritual practices on leadership effectiveness. The findings indicate that spiritual values and spiritual practices have positive effects on leadership effectiveness. This research also shows that spiritual values and spiritual practices have interactive effects on leadership effectiveness. This result implies that organizations should enhance the spiritual values and practices. Discussion, practical, and theoretical implications for further researches are offered. DOI: 10.15408/etk.v17i1.6497

Care-giving as a Canadian-Vietnamese tradition: 'it's like eating, you just do it'.

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Donovan, Rhonda; Williams, Allison M

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to examine how Vietnamese family caregivers (FCGs) perceive, manage and experience end-of-life care-giving for seriously ill family members. Using an instrumental case study design, this longitudinal qualitative research employed the use of cultural brokers/language interpreters to help ensure that the research was conducted in a culturally-appropriate manner. Participants (n = 18) discussed their experiences of care-giving within the context of a traditional cultural framework, which was found to influence their motivations and approaches to care-giving, as well as their propensities towards the use of various supports and services. The study was carried out in southern Ontario, Canada, and participants were providing home-based care-giving in the community. Data were collected throughout 2010 and 2011. The ways in which care-giving was perceived and expressed are reflected in three themes: (i) Natural: identity and care work; (ii) Intentional: whole-person care; and (iii) Intensive: standards, struggle and the context of care. This research confirms the need for culturally-appropriate services and supports while illustrating that Vietnamese FCGs not only value, but are also likely to use healthcare and social services if they are language-accessible, built on trust and demonstrate respect for their values as individuals, regardless of culture. © 2014 The Authors. Health and Social Care in the Community published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pilot-testing the French version of a provisional European organisation for research and treatment of cancer (EORTC) measure of spiritual well-being for people receiving palliative care for cancer.

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Lucette, A; Brédart, A; Vivat, B; Young, T

2014-03-01

Spiritual well-being is increasingly recognised as an important aspect of patients' quality of life when living with a potentially life-limiting illness such as cancer. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group is developing a measure for assessing spiritual well-being cross-culturally for people receiving palliative care for cancer. The pilot-testing phase of the study explored potential problems related to the content and administration of a provisional version of this measure. The French version was pilot-tested with 12 patients in a palliative and supportive day care unit in Paris. Participants were asked to complete the measure and the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL before being interviewed about their responses. The administration of the measure enabled participants to express the difficulties and existential concerns they experienced. The items were not considered intrusive, despite the sensitive topic of the measure. This article considers difficulties with items pertaining to 'religion' and 'spirituality' in the context of French culture. Overall, this measure appears to enhance holistic care, by providing caregivers with a means of broaching spirituality issues, a topic otherwise difficult to discuss in the context of palliative care. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spirituality and job satisfaction among hospice interdisciplinary team members.

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Clark, Leah; Leedy, Stephen; McDonald, Laurie; Muller, Barbara; Lamb, Cheryl; Mendez, Tracy; Kim, Sehwan; Schonwetter, Ronald

2007-12-01

As a continuing effort to enhance the quality of palliative care for the dying, this study examined (1) the prevalence of spirituality among hospice interdisciplinary team (IDT) members; (2) whether spirituality is related to job satisfaction; and (3) the structural path relationships among four variables: spiritual belief, integration of spirituality at work, self actualization and job satisfaction. The study surveyed 215 hospice IDT members who completed the Jarel Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Chamiec-Case Spirituality Integration and Job Satisfaction Scales. Multiple regression and structural path modeling methods were applied to explain the path relationships involving all four variables. The IDT members surveyed were: nurses, 46.4%; home health aids, 24.9%; social workers, 17.4%; chaplains, 4.2%; physicians, 2.3%; and other, 4.8%. Ninety-eight percent of the respondents viewed themselves as having spiritual well-being. On a 0-100 scale, IDT staff reported high spiritual belief (mean = 89.4) and they were self-actualizing (mean = 82.6). Most reported high job satisfaction (mean = 79.3) and spiritual integration (mean = 67.9). In multiple regression, spirituality, integration and self-actualization explained 22% of the variation in job satisfaction (R = 0.48; adjusted R(2) = 0.218; df = 3,175; F = 17.2; p = 0.001). Structural path models revealed that job satisfaction is more likely to be realized by a model that transforms one's spirituality into processes of integrating spirituality at work and self actualization (chi(2) = 0.614; df = 1; p = 0.433) than a model that establishes a direct path from spirituality to job satisfaction (chi(2) = 1.65; df = 1; p = 0.199). Hospice IDT member's integration of their spirituality at work and greater self actualization significantly improve job satisfaction.

Occupational care giving conditions and human rights: A study of elderly caregivers in Botswana

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Simon Kangethe

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The article aims to explore and discuss the occupational care giving conditions pitting them against human rights. The article′s objective is to initiate discussions and generate literature pertaining to occupational care giving load and assessing the human rights challenge it poses. The article uses analysis of the literature review from an array of eclectic data sources. The following factors were found besetting the caregivers′ human rights: (1 Aging; (2 Cultural and community attitudes towards care giving; (3 Risk of contagion; (4 Health hazards and lack of compensation. Recommendations: (1 Adoption of grandparents/grandchildren care symbiosis system; (2 Government remuneration policy for caregivers; (3 Mainstreaming of gender education to encourage men and youth develop an interest in care giving; (4 Institution of laws and policies by countries to provide for the compensation of caregivers′ occupational hazards and risks.

Secondary Traumatic Stress, Culture and Stigma: Barriers to Self-Initiated Care in the Military Mental Health and Spiritual Care Provider Populations

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-01

caregivers have been actively and productively engaged long before the attacks of 9/11, having provided mental health and spiritual care to military...Secondary Traumatic Stress or Simply Burnout ? Effect of Trauma Therapy on Mental Health Professionals,” Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry...24. 77 Ibid., 24. 78 Ben-Zeev et al., “DSM-V and the Stigma of Mental Illness ,” 319. 79 Britt et al., “The Stigma of Mental Health Problems in

Burst Out of the Dead Land by the Help of Spirituality: A Case Study of Living with Blindness and Cancer.

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Seyed Bagheri, Seyed Hamid; Dehghan, Mahlagha; Alavi, Seyyed Hamidreza; Iranmanesh, Sedigheh; Khoshab, Hadi

2017-06-01

Blindness is one of the most complex problems related to health throughout the world. The condition is worse when such stress is accompanied with cancer. The aim of this case study was to introduce a patient with both these conditions who could come over her problems well. A phenomenological hermeneutic approach influenced by Ricoeur was used to explore the experience of the patient. Data were collected through unstructured and deep interview and by checking patient medical records. The patient is an Iranian 58-year-old teacher residing in Kerman who became blind at age 32 due to bloodshed inside the eye and was affected by breast cancer at age 52. The patient could come over these divine tests through the help of spirituality so that she believed blindness and cancer was the best events in her life. Spirituality is one of the human aspects that give meaning and purposes to life. Health care providers are suggested to implement spiritual strategies such as instructional workshops for increasing spirituality in settings, such as oncologic wards for patients to pass stages of adaptation to such great stresses easily and rapidly.

Initiation of traditional birth attendants and their traditional and spiritual practices during pregnancy and childbirth in Ghana.

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Aziato, Lydia; Omenyo, Cephas N

2018-03-07

Prior to the advent of modern obstetric services, traditional birth attendants (TBAs) have rendered services to pregnant women and women in labour for a long time. Although it is anticipated that women in contemporary societies will give birth in hospitals and clinics, some women still patronize the services of TBAs. The study therefore sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the initiation of TBAs and their traditional and spiritual practices employed during pregnancy and childbirth in Ghana. The design was an exploratory qualitative one using in-depth individual interviews. Data saturation was reached with 16 participants who were all of Christian faith. Interviews were conducted with a semi-structured interview guide, audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was employed to generate findings. The findings showed that TBAs were initiated through apprenticeship from family members who were TBAs and other non-family TBAs as well as through dreams and revelations. They practice using both spiritual and physical methods and their work was founded on spiritual directions, use of spiritual artefacts, herbs and physical examination. TBAs delay cutting of the cord and disposal of the placenta was associated with beliefs which indicated that when not properly disposed, it will have negative consequences on the child during adulthood. Although, TBAs like maternal health professionals operate to improve maternal health care, some of their spiritual practices and beliefs may pose threats to their clients. Nonetheless, with appropriate initiation and training, they can become useful.

Music Therapy is Associated With Family Perception of More Spiritual Support and Decreased Breathing Problems in Cancer Patients Receiving Hospice Care.

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Burns, Debra S; Perkins, Susan M; Tong, Yan; Hilliard, Russell E; Cripe, Larry D

2015-08-01

Music therapy is a common discretionary service offered within hospice; however, there are critical gaps in understanding the effects of music therapy on hospice quality indicators, such as family satisfaction with care. The purpose of this study was to examine whether music therapy affected family perception of patients' symptoms and family satisfaction with hospice care. This was a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis of electronic medical records from 10,534 cancer patients cared for between 2006 and 2010 by a large national hospice. Logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of music therapy using propensity scores to adjust for non-random assignment. Overall, those receiving music therapy had higher odds of being female, having longer lengths of stay, and receiving more services other than music therapy, and lower odds of being married/partnered or receiving home care. Family satisfaction data were available for 1495 (14%) and were more likely available if the patient received music therapy (16% vs. 12%, P music therapy vs. those not. Patients who received music therapy were more likely to report discussions about spirituality (odds ratio [OR] = 1.59, P = 0.01), had marginally less trouble breathing (OR = 0.77, P = 0.06), and were marginally more likely to receive the right amount of spiritual support (OR = 1.59, P = 0.06). Music therapy was associated with perceptions of meaningful spiritual support and less trouble breathing. The results provide preliminary data for a prospective trial to optimize music therapy interventions for integration into clinical practice. Copyright © 2015 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Spiritual well-being of patients with multiple sclerosis.

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Allahbakhshian, Maryam; Jafarpour, Mahshid; Parvizi, Soroor

2011-01-01

Spiritual well-being is one of the fundamental concepts in chronic diseases which create meaning and purpose in life and is an important approach in promoting general health and quality of life. This study performed to determine the level of spiritual health and its dimensions in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). 236 members of Iranian MS Society were volunteered to participate in a descriptive co-relational study. Spiritual well-being was evaluated by The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) questionnaires in two religious and Existential dimensions. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyse the data. The majority of patients (% 97.9) showed moderate spiritual well-being (mean score = 74.3, SD= 8.90). Although Existential well-being (mean score = 40.3, SD= 5.51) was higher than religious well- being (mean score = 33.9, SD= 4.88). A significant relationship was seen between economic status and the spiritual well-being. The results emphasize on the necessity of spiritual well-being as an effective factor on different aspects of these patients' life. This key point is useful and even necessary to be considered to design programs of care and cure for these patients in a country (like Iran) with cultural and religious beliefs. On the other hand, patients' economic status should be considered.

Spirituality Intervention and Outcomes: Corner stone of Holistic Nursing Practice

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Mardiyono Mardiyono

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Holistic nursing results in healing the whole person as human being that has interconnectedness of body mind social cultural spiritual aspect.Objective: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of Islamic spirituality interventions on health outcomes in nursing.Method: Databases searched for electronic journals and books that were published since 1994 to 2010 were included.Results: Spirituality intervention mainly composes of prayer, recitation of the holy Qur’an, remembrance of Allah, fasting, charity, prophets’ methods, and modified Islamic methods. Thirteen studies found that various outcomes have been highlighted when applied in several areas of nursing, such as stimulating baby’s cognitive ability in maternal nursing, promoting health during eating halal food, fasting, abstinence of alcohol and tobacco consumption, performing regular exercise, reducing anxiety, and pain in medical-surgical nursing. In mental health nursing, six studies explored effects of prayer and religious psychotherapy to enhance happiness and physical health and alleviate anxiety, and depression. Three studies reported Islamic cognitive therapy to alleviate the auditory hallucination, bereavement, and depression. In critical care nursing, three studies employed reciting the holy Qur’an and talqin in end of life care.Conclusion: Although the literature is limited in the amount and quality of spirituality interventions, some evidences have shown as integrative energy in nursing practice to promote health and minimize some symptoms. Spirituality interventions should be performed to acknowledge the high priority in holistic nursing and support interventions.Keywords: spirituality intervention, holistic nursing, Islam

spirituality and contextuality 1. the historiography of spirituality

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The contextuality or historicity of spirituality is not self-evident. Not until modern times, in Europe, did it become more or less normal to look at spirituality from a historical perspective. It is thus not strange that the historiography of spirituality arose from the nineteenth century. In that time, the historical perspective was ...

Investigation Clinical Competence and Its Relationship with Professional Ethics and Spiritual Health in Nurses

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Elahe Ramezanzade Tabriz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background and Objectives: Study of clinical competence in nursing helps determine the quality of health care delivered to patients. Given the priority of observance of principles over caretaking and necessity of spirituality existence at the core of health care provision, this study was conducted to investigate clinical competence and its relationship with professional ethics and spiritual health in nurses. Methods: In this cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study, 281 nurses were enrolled by consensus sampling. Sampling was conducted from February, 2016 till June, 2016. The data were gathered by a demographics questionnaire, a self-assessment scale of clinical competence, a nursing ethics questionnaire, and a spiritual health questionnaire, and analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, ANOVA, and linear regression analysis in SPSS 21. Results: The total scores for self-assessment scale of nurses' clinical competence, professional ethics, and spiritual health were moderate. In the light of the results of Spearman's correlation coefficient, there was a significant and positive correlation between clinical competence and spiritual health. Moreover, a significant positive correlation was observed between professional ethics and spiritual health but there was no correlation between professional ethics and clinical competence. Conclusion: Managers' and personnel's Knowledge about the level of nurses clinical competence, professional ethics, and spiritual health in teaching health care centers provides valuable information to develop in-service and efficacious education programs and ultimately to improve the quality of nursing services.

Prayer or spiritual healing as adjuncts to conventional care: a cross sectional analysis of prevalence and characteristics of use among women.

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Rao, Angela; Sibbritt, David; Phillips, Jane L; Hickman, Louise D

2015-06-25

To determine the prevalence and characteristics of users of prayer or spiritual healing among women. This cross sectional study was conducted as a part of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH), a 20-year study that examines various factors affecting women's health and well-being. The sample used in the current study were women from the 1946-1951 cohort (n=9965) (59-64 years) who were surveyed in 2010. Use of prayer or spiritual healing; demographic factors and measures of health status. χ(2) Tests, analyses of variance (to determine associations) and a stepwise backward logistic regression model (for the most significant predictors) using a likelihood ratio test were used to determine the outcome measures. It is estimated that 26% of Australian women from the 1946-1951 cohort (aged 59-64 years) use prayer or spiritual healing on a regular basis. Women were significantly more likely to use prayer or spiritual healing if they were non-smokers, non-drinkers or low-risk drinkers, had symptoms of severe tiredness (OR 1.25; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.40), depression, (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.11 to 1.53), anxiety (OR 1.33; 95% CI 1.15 to 1.53), diagnosed cancer (OR 1.84; 95% CI 1.28 to 2.65) or other major illnesses (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.75) and used other complementary therapies. A significant proportion of adult women are using prayer or spiritual healing. Given that prayer or spiritual healing was significantly associated with health symptoms, chronic illnesses and positive health seeking behaviours, respect for prayer or spiritual healing practices is required within health care settings. Future research is recommended around specific populations using prayer or spiritual healing, reasons for their use and potential benefits on health related outcomes and general well-being. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Dimensi Spiritual dalam Kepemimpinan

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Arcadius Benawa

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This article aims to show that the spiritual aspect must be noted in the leadership because every leader is always marked with oath of office in carrying out her/his position. So, how leaders are accountable, it is not only on the horizontal level but also at the vertical level. Research was done with phenomenological and literature studies about the practice of leadership faced with a number of theories about leadership and then to be synthesized the more authentic leadership than just imaging or false branding leadership. This article was based on the assumption that leadership (including in the political sphere was merely a sociological problem that kicked out spiritual aspects, while in the historical development of leadership, it had never been excluded from the spiritual dimension, whether in the form of manipulative (just because fed people understand that leadership came from the “sky”/gods. So then, a king acted tyrannical and led to the birth of authentic leadership as popularized as servant leadership. This article concluded that authentic leadership will give more benefit to develop the life system as well as the purpose of leadership itself rather than a merely apparent leadership which actually hurts the members (people because of the failure to meet the expectations of the members (people. 

Integrating values in the care giving activity from the professional point of view.

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Delgado-Antolín, Juan Carlos

2014-01-01

Nurses trained more and more on scientific evidence, often focus their actions based fundamentally on scientific fact, leaving aside other important knowledge that intervene in the care giving relation: communication, personal relationships, respect in the relationship, and knowing all the values implied in said relationship. It is about these values and on their importance within care upon which the author reflects in this article, until concluding on how we can integrate values to the care giving activity.

Frequency, intensity, and correlates of spiritual pain in advanced cancer patients assessed in a supportive/palliative care clinic.

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Delgado-Guay, Marvin Omar; Chisholm, Gary; Williams, Janet; Frisbee-Hume, Susan; Ferguson, Andrea O; Bruera, Eduardo

2016-08-01

Regular assessments of spiritual distress/spiritual pain among patients in a supportive/palliative care clinic (SCPC) are limited or unavailable. We modified the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) by adding spiritual pain (SP) to the scale (0 = best, 10 = worst) to determine the frequency, intensity, and correlates of self-reported SP (≥1/10) (pain deep in your soul/being that is not physical) among these advanced cancer patients. We reviewed 292 consecutive consults of advanced cancer patients (ACPs) who were evaluated at our SCPC between October of 2012 and January of 2013. Symptoms were assessed using the new instrument (termed the ESAS-FS). The median age of patients was 61 (range = 22-92). Some 53% were male; 189 (65%) were white, 45 (15%) African American, and 34 (12%) Hispanic. Some 123 of 282 (44%) of ACPs had SP (mean (95% CI) = 4(3.5-4.4). Advanced cancer patients with SP had worse pain [mean (95% CI) = 5.3(4.8, 5.8) vs. 4.5(4.0, 5.0)] (p = 0.02); depression [4.2(3.7, 4.7) vs. 2.1(1.7, 2.6), p well-being [5.4(4.9, 5.8) vs. 4.5(4.1, 4.9), p = 0.0136]; and financial distress (FD) [4.4(3.9, 5.0) vs. 2.2(1.8, 2.7), p Spiritual pain correlated (Spearman) with depression (r = 0.45, p well-being (r = 0.27, p = 0.0006), nausea (r = 0.29, p = 0.0002), and financial distress (r = 0.42, p Spiritual pain, which is correlated with physical and psychological distress, was reported in more than 40% of ACPs. Employment of the ESAS-FS allows ACPs with SP to be identified and evaluated in an SCPC. More research is needed.

Spiritual Meaning in Life and Values in Patients With Severe Mental Disorders.

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Huguelet, Philippe; Mohr, Sylvia Madeleine; Olié, Emilie; Vidal, Sonia; Hasler, Roland; Prada, Paco; Bancila, Mircea; Courtet, Philippe; Guillaume, Sébastien; Perroud, Nader

2016-06-01

Spirituality and meaning in life are key dimensions of recovery in psychiatric disorders. The aim of this study was to explore spiritual meaning in life in relation to values and mental health among 175 patients with schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and anorexia nervosa. For 26% of the patients, spirituality was essential in providing meaning in life. Depending on the diagnosis, considering spirituality as essential in life was associated with better social functioning; self-esteem; psychological and social quality of life; fewer negative symptoms; higher endorsement of values such as universalism, tradition (humility, devoutness), and benevolence (helpfulness); and a more meaningful perspective in life. These results highlight the importance of spirituality for recovery-oriented care.

Identity, transcendence and the true self: Insights from psychology and contemplative spirituality

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Carter Haynes

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This article investigates the intersection of psychology and spirituality as seen through the works of Thomas Merton, Carl Jung, Fritz Kunkel and Viktor Frankl. The themes of spirituality contextualised in human identity, psychological and spiritual transcendence, and the true self versus false self metaphor are traced through the works of all four thinkers. Epistemological flexibility and holistic thinking and being are suggested as methods for transforming interdisciplinary practitioners, such as pastoral counsellors, spiritual directors and spiritually oriented psychotherapists, in order that they can offer care in a less bifurcated and more integrated way. Practical applications, including a vignette and specific recommendations for broadening and deepening personal and professional integrative practice, are offered.

Spirituality, illness and personal responsibility: the experience of Jordanian Muslim men with coronary artery disease.

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Nabolsi, Manar M; Carson, Alexander M

2011-12-01

Spiritual care is an aspect of nursing in many parts of the world; however, there is very little evidence of this in an Arab Muslim country. This qualitative study explores the meaning of spirituality as experienced by Jordanian Muslim men living with coronary artery disease. A hermeneutical phenomenological orientation was used to explore the experience of spirituality as lived by Arab Muslim men with coronary artery disease. A purposive sample of 19 men was selected from the Coronary care Unit (CCU) in a teaching hospital in Jordan. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi's steps of phenomenological analysis. Four themes emerged from the data. The participants explained that faith facilitated their acceptance of illness and enhanced their coping strategies, that seeking medical treatment did not conflict with their belief in fate, that spirituality enhanced their inner strength, hope and acceptance of self-responsibility and it helped to them to find meaning and purpose in their life. In this study, Parse's theory of human becoming served as the foundation for understanding the paradoxical rhythmical pattern of the human experience of spirituality in illness. The findings suggest that patients' faith plays a central role in the choices they make either healthy or unhealthy, or accepting or rejecting their personal responsibility in promoting their future health and well-being. In addition, it provide nurses with the basis for providing spiritual care and developing a culturally sensitive healthcare plans in this population. © 2011 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences © 2011 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Integrating Values in the Care Giving Activity from the Professional Point of View

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Juan Carlos Delgado-Antolín

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Nurses trained more and more on scientific evidence, often focus their actions based fundamentally on scientific fact, leaving aside other important knowledge that intervene in the care giving relation: communication, personal relationships, respect in the relationship, and knowing all the values implied in said relationship. It is about these values and on their importance within care upon which the author reflects in this article, until concluding on how we can integrate values to the care giving activity.

Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of the Vietnamese Dementia Caregiving Experience

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Hinton, Ladson; Tran, Jane NhaUyen; Tran, Cindy; Hinton, Devon

2010-01-01

This paper focuses on the role of religion and spirituality in dementia caregiving among Vietnamese refugee families. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with nine Vietnamese caregivers of persons with dementia, then tape-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for emergent themes. Caregivers related their spirituality/religion to three aspects of caregiving: (1) their own suffering, (2) their motivations for providing care, and (3) their understanding of the nature of the illness. Key terms or idioms were used to articulate spiritual/religious dimensions of the caregivers’ experience, which included sacrifice, compassion, karma, blessings, grace and peace of mind. In their narratives, the caregivers often combined multiple strands of different religions and/or spiritualities: Animism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Catholicism. Case studies are presented to illustrate the relationship between religion/spirituality and the domains of caregiving. These findings have relevance for psychotherapeutic interventions with ethnically diverse populations. PMID:20930949

Spirituality and religion in patients with HIV/AIDS.

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Cotton, Sian; Puchalski, Christina M; Sherman, Susan N; Mrus, Joseph M; Peterman, Amy H; Feinberg, Judith; Pargament, Kenneth I; Justice, Amy C; Leonard, Anthony C; Tsevat, Joel

2006-12-01

Spirituality and religion are often central issues for patients dealing with chronic illness. The purpose of this study is to characterize spirituality/religion in a large and diverse sample of patients with HIV/AIDS by using several measures of spirituality/religion, to examine associations between spirituality/religion and a number of demographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables, and to assess changes in levels of spirituality over 12 to 18 months. We interviewed 450 patients from 4 clinical sites. Spirituality/religion was assessed by using 8 measures: the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spirituality-Expanded scale (meaning/peace, faith, and overall spirituality); the Duke Religion Index (organized and nonorganized religious activities, and intrinsic religiosity); and the Brief RCOPE scale (positive and negative religious coping). Covariates included demographics and clinical characteristics, HIV symptoms, health status, social support, self-esteem, optimism, and depressive symptoms. The patients' mean (SD) age was 43.3 (8.4) years; 387 (86%) were male; 246 (55%) were minorities; and 358 (80%) indicated a specific religious preference. Ninety-five (23%) participants attended religious services weekly, and 143 (32%) engaged in prayer or meditation at least daily. Three hundred thirty-nine (75%) patients said that their illness had strengthened their faith at least a little, and patients used positive religious coping strategies (e.g., sought God's love and care) more often than negative ones (e.g., wondered whether God has abandoned me; Pself-esteem, greater life satisfaction, and lower overall functioning (R2=.16 to .74). Mean levels of spirituality did not change significantly over 12 to 18 months. Most patients with HIV/AIDS belonged to an organized religion and use their religion to cope with their illness. Patients with greater optimism, greater self-esteem, greater life satisfaction, minorities, and patients who drink less alcohol tend

Creation of Illness Meaning: A Central Concept of Spiritual Health

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Fatemeh Khorashadizadeh

2016-07-01

In general, it could be concluded that since the search for meaning and spiritual health are context-driven concepts, and significant differences have been observed in their conceptualization based on various cultures, it is recommended that the healthcare system pay especial attention to this crucial issue in order to effectively perform interventions and cares to promote spiritual health of patients.

Towards a Theory of Spiritual and Religious Experiences. A building block approach of the unexpected possible.

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Hermans, C.A.M.

2015-01-01

How do we define religious experiences? And what would be the relationship with spiritual experiences? The author claims that the cognitive turn in science gives us new opportunities to map the territory of religion and spirituality. In line with other authors (Taves, Wildman), he proposes a

Drug Resistance versus Spiritual Resistance: A Comparative Analysis from the Perspective of Spiritual Health

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Mohammad Baqer Mohammadi Laini

2014-12-01

. Considering the fact that Holy Quran is the Word of God, we establish our full confidence and trust within it. Therefore, the causes and symptoms of spiritual resistance against metaphysical cures, which have been outlined in this article, have been taken from Quranic teachings and should be carefully studied.

Spirituality in nursing: an analysis of the concept.

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Mahlungulu, S N; Uys, L R

2004-05-01

There is scientific evidence that the spiritual well being of a person can affect quality of life and the response to illness, pain, suffering and even death. In spite of this evidence, spirituality in nursing has not been examined within a South African context. The purpose of this study was to describe the phenomenon of spirituality from the perspective of nurses and patients/clients with the aim of generating a middle range theory of spiritual care in nursing. A qualitative mode of inquiry using a grounded theory method was applied. A sample of 56 participants composed of 40 nurses, 14 patients and 2 relatives of patients was recruited by theoretical sampling procedure from one public hospital, one private hospital and one hospice setting. Focus group interviews and one on one in depth interviews were conducted. An audio tape recorder was used to record the interviews. Field notes and memos were also kept. Data were collected and analyzed simultaneously. Non numerical Data Qualification Solutions NUDIST software was used to code data into different levels of codes. The results were rich descriptions of the concept of spirituality. This concept was described as a unique individual quest for establishing and, or, maintaining a dynamic transcendent relationship with self, others and with God/supernatural being as understood by the person. Faith, trust and religious belief were reported as antecedents of spirituality, while hope, inner peace and meaningful life were reported to be consequences of spirituality.

Approaches to capturing the financial cost of family care-giving within a palliative care context: a systematic review.

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Gardiner, Clare; Brereton, Louise; Frey, Rosemary; Wilkinson-Meyers, Laura; Gott, Merryn

2016-09-01

The economic burden faced by family caregivers of people at the end of life is well recognised. Financial burden has a significant impact on the provision of family care-giving in the community setting, but has seen limited research attention. A systematic review with realist review synthesis and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify literature relating to the financial costs and impact of family care-giving at the end of life. This paper reports findings relating to previously developed approaches which capture the financial costs and implications of caring for family members receiving palliative/end-of-life care. Seven electronic databases were searched from inception to April 2012, for original research studies relating to the financial impact of care-giving at the end of life. Studies were independently screened to identify those which met the study inclusion criteria, and the methodological quality of included studies was appraised using realist review criteria of relevance and rigour. A descriptive thematic approach was used to synthesise data. Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria for the review. Various approaches to capturing data on the financial costs of care-giving at the end of life were noted; however, no single tool was identified with the sole purpose of exploring these costs. The majority of approaches used structured questionnaires and were administered by personal interview, with most studies using longitudinal designs. Calculation of costs was most often based on recall by patients and family caregivers, in some studies combined with objective measures of resource use. While the studies in this review provide useful data on approaches to capturing costs of care-giving, more work is needed to develop methods which accurately and sensitively capture the financial costs of caring at the end of life. Methodological considerations include study design and method of administration, contextual and cultural relevance, and accuracy of cost

Youth Mentoring and Spiritual Development

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Rhodes, Jean E.; Chan, Christian S.

2008-01-01

Religious organizations offer a potentially rich pool of caring adults who are driven by their own spiritual commitments and a strong ethic to serve others. Indeed, more Americans volunteer through religious organizations than through any other venue. Religious organizations account for half of all volunteering, with an estimated 60 percent of the…

Relationship between Coping and Spiritual Health in Renal Transplant Recipients

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Somayeh Saadatpanah

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD encounter various challenges following kidney transplantation, which should be managed appropriately. These problems can be partly controlled by considering spirituality as one of the care components. Regarding this, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between coping and spiritual health in the renal transplant recipients. This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 169 patients referring to the Organ Transplantation Center at Montasserieh Hospital in Mashhad, Iran. The study population was selected through convenience sampling method. The data were collected using demographic characteristics form, Renal Transplant Coping Scale by Valizadeh et al. (2015, and Spiritual Health Questionnaire developed by Khorashadizadeh et al. (2015. The mean scores of coping and spiritual health were 321.2±15.3 and 123.3±6.2, respectively, which were desirable. There was a significant linear relationship between coping and spiritual health mean scores (P˂0.001, r=0.37. Based on the findings, the reinforcement of spiritual beliefs in patients could be a strategy to promote their coping level.

Spiritual intelligence of nurses in two Chinese social systems: a cross-sectional comparison study.

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Yang, Ke-Ping; Wu, Xin-Juan

2009-09-01

The spirituality of healthcare providers and their clients is becoming a crucial issue in a world increasingly preoccupied with material issues. In light of such, how do nurses enhance their spiritual intelligence against such materialist pressures? After a 60-year separation of Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and the rancor between their two governments, what are the similarities and the differences in nurse spirituality profiles between these two different societies? With increasing contact between the two, this issue should be examined and explored, as it has the potential to become an essential unspoken element underpinning holistic care quality. The purpose of this study was to compare spiritual intelligence between nurses in two different Chinese societies. A cross-sectional descriptive and inferential study was conducted at five medical centers in China and Taiwan. A total of 524 registered hospital nurses were recruited as participants. We used R. N. Wolman's (2001) self-reported PsychoMatrix Spirituality Inventory to measure participant levels of spiritual intelligence. The PsychoMatrix Spirituality Inventory incorporated seven factors, including divinity, mindfulness, extrasensory perception, community, intellectuality, trauma, and childhood spirituality. Results showed that social systems did have an impact on nurses' spiritual intelligence. Childhood spirituality and religious beliefs and activities greatly affected and effectively predicted nurses' spiritual intelligence. Nurses on either side of the Taiwan Strait all reported a need to deal with their daily lives pragmatically, objectively, and rationally and relied on empirical evidence in work settings. As social and economic contacts increase across the Taiwan Strait, it is imperative that nurses adopt cultural awareness and sensitivity as they provide holistic care to clients. This study opens doors to dialogue about and a better understanding of nurses' spiritual intelligence in Taiwan

Religious and/or spiritual practices: extending spiritual freedom to people with schizophrenia.

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Smith, Sharon; Suto, Melinda J

2012-04-01

It continues to be a challenge to define and utilize spirituality in client-centred occupational therapy practice. Dialogue about spirituality is especially problematic for occupational therapists working with people with schizophrenia. To explore the meaning of religion and/or spirituality for people living with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Nine community-based individuals with schizophrenia engaged in interviews about the meaning of religion and/or spirituality and demonstrated self-defined spiritual practices. Phenomenology, hermeneutic theory, and a symbolic interactionism framework provided methodological and analytic guidance. Participants employed religious and/or spiritual practices to cope with schizophrenia symptoms and make meaning of their lives. Individuals used multiple systems of meaning to explain their experiences. Religious and/or spiritual agency, an individual's sense of freedom to choose among the spiritual options, renewed their sense of empowerment. Therapists can engage in spiritual negotiation with clients by using well-worded empowering questions toward a common goal of life enhancement.

Physician assistant program education on spirituality and religion in patient encounters.

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Berg, Gina M; Whitney, Melissa P; Wentling, Callie J; Hervey, Ashley M; Nyberg, Sue

2013-01-01

To describe educational practices of physician assistant (PA) programs regarding spirituality and religion discussions during patient encounters. Patients want their health care provider to be aware of their spiritual and religious beliefs. This topic is addressed in physician and nursing education but may not be included in PA programs. Data regarding curriculum were collected via electronic survey emailed to 143 PA programs across the United States. Thirty-eight programs responded for a response rate of 27%. Most (68.4%) program respondents reported students' desire to be trained to discuss spirituality and religion, yet 36.8% do not offer this training. Just over half (69.2%) would consider adding curriculum to teach students to discuss spirituality, but the majority (92.3%) would not add curriculum to discuss religion during patient encounters. PA programs offer training to discuss spirituality in patient encounters but not to discuss religiosity. Programs may want to consider adding some curriculum to increase PAs awareness of spirituality and religion needs of patients.

The potential of spiritual leadership in workplace spirituality

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Marilyn Naidoo

2014-06-01

Full Text Available We live in the transition period between the old definition of work as survival and the new definition of work as livelihood. A new awareness of the value of spirituality can add to the innovation and creative capacity of ‘human capital’, increased authenticity in communication and has the potential for increased ethical and moral behaviour. For organisations wanting greater commitment this means opening up the conversation to include dimensions of soul and spirit that have been traditionally left at the office door. Workplace spirituality has potential for leadership development as it allows employees and leaders to act from personal truth, integrity, values and ethical practice. Spiritual leadership taps into the fundamental needs of both leader and follower for spiritual survival so that they become more organisationally committed and productive. This article focuses on the potential of spiritual leadership to transform and to contribute to the success of an organisation.

Relationship between mental health and spiritual wellbeing among hemodialysis patients: a correlation study.

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Martínez, Beatriz Bertolaccini; Custódio, Rodrigo Pereira

2014-01-01

The stress of living with a terminal disease has a negative impact on the mental health of hemodialysis (HD) patients. Spirituality is a potential coping mechanism for stressful experiences. Studies on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among HD patients are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mental health and spiritual well-being among HD patients. Cross-sectional observational study on hemodialysis patients at a single center in Brazil, between January and December 2011. Mental health was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire and spiritual wellbeing was assessed using the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale; 150 HD patients participated in the study. A significant correlation was found between mental health and spiritual wellbeing (P = 0.001). Spiritual wellbeing was the strongest predictor of mental health, psychological distress, sleep disturbance and psychosomatic complaints. Poor mental health was associated with lower spiritual wellbeing. This has important implications for delivery of palliative care to HD patients.

When does spiritual intelligence particularly predict job engagement? The mediating role of psychological empowerment.

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Torabi, Mohsen; Nadali, Iman Zohoorian

2016-01-01

Regarding the importance of health care providers such as nurses who are always in stressful environments, it is imperative to better understand how they become more engaged in their work. The purpose of this paper is to focus on health care providers (nurses), and examine how the interaction between spiritual intelligence and psychological empowerment affect job engagement. This descriptive and quantitative study was conducted among nurses at the Faghihi Hospital in Shiraz, Iran in 2010. A sample of nurses ( n = 179) completed standard survey questionnaire including spiritual intelligence, psychological empowerment, and job engagement which included 5 questions for each dimensions. For testing the hypotheses of the study, results were analyzed through structural equation modeling (SEM) using LISREL 8.8. SEM revealed that psychological empowerment could fully mediate the relationship between spiritual intelligence and job engagement. However, the correlation between spiritual intelligence and job engagement was significant but weak using Pearson coefficient method. This can imply that psychological empowerment plays a crucial role in the relationship between spiritual intelligence and job engagement. This paper indicates that spiritual intelligence might affect different organizational parameters, directly or indirectly. Therefore, it is recommended that the researchers evaluate probable relationships between spiritual intelligence and other variables.

Understanding Care Giving and Care Receiving Experiences throughout the Life Course

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morita, Makiko

the social network of their everyday lives. These interactions are long-term changing processes as both the systems and wide-ranging conditions in everyday life are neither static nor immutable. In particular, the present paper draws attention to how older people understand the ways that the welfare systems...... and expectations for the future. Guided by life course approach, the analysis focuses on older couples in Denmark and Japan, and explores the following questions; how have older Danish and Japanese couples experienced care giving and care taking over the life course? How do they perceive these experiences? How...... data derived from semi-structured in-depth interviews with couples aged 65 and over in Denmark and Japan. The interviews are ongoing and will be concluded by February 2014....

Spiritual Perspective and Needs: A Comparative Study of Nursing Faculty in a Christian University and a State University

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Gray, Jennifer; Garner, Linda; Snow, Diane; Wright, Kathy

2004-01-01

To care for the whole person, nurses must provide spiritual care (Narayanasamy, 1995; Wright, 1998). The inability to consistently and effectively provide spiritual care has been linked to the lack of educational preparation in our basic nursing programs (Govier, 2000; Piles, 1990). This lack of preparation is unacceptable because patients…

Self-rated health of primary care house officers and its relationship to psychological and spiritual well-being

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mueller Caroline V

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Background The stress associated with residency training may place house officers at risk for poorer health. We sought to determine the level of self-reported health among resident physicians and to ascertain factors that are associated with their reported health. Methods A questionnaire was administered to house officers in 4 residency programs at a large Midwestern medical center. Self-rated health was determined by using a health rating scale (ranging from 0 = death to 100 = perfect health and a Likert scale (ranging from "poor" health to "excellent" health. Independent variables included demographics, residency program type, post-graduate year level, current rotation, depressive symptoms, religious affiliation, religiosity, religious coping, and spirituality. Results We collected data from 227 subjects (92% response rate. The overall mean (SD health rating score was 87 (10; range, 40–100, with only 4 (2% subjects reporting a score of 100; on the Likert scale, only 88 (39% reported excellent health. Lower health rating scores were significantly associated (P Conclusion Residents' self-rated health was poorer than might be expected in a cohort of relatively young physicians and was related to program type, depressive symptoms, and spiritual well-being. Future studies should examine whether treating depressive symptoms and attending to spiritual needs can improve the overall health and well-being of primary care house officers.

Spiritual Intimacy, Marital Intimacy, and Physical/Psychological Well-Being: Spiritual Meaning as a Mediator.

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Holland, Karen J; Lee, Jerry W; Marshak, Helen H; Martin, Leslie R

2016-08-01

Intimacy is an essential part of marital relationships, spiritual relationships, and is also a factor in well-being, but there is little research simultaneously examining the links among spiritual intimacy, marital intimacy, and well-being. Structural equation modeling was used to examine associations among the latent variables-spiritual intimacy, marital intimacy, spiritual meaning, and well-being-in a cross-sectional study of 5,720 married adults aged 29-100 years ( M = 58.88, SD = 12.76, 59% female). All participants were from the Adventist Health Study-2, Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study. In the original structural model, all direct associations between the three latent variables of spiritual intimacy, marital intimacy, and well-being were significantly positive indicating that there was a significant relationship among spiritual intimacy, marital intimacy, and well-being. When spiritual meaning was added as a mediating variable, the direct connections of spiritual intimacy to marital intimacy and to well-being became weakly negative. However, the indirect associations of spiritual intimacy with marital intimacy and with well-being were then strongly positive through spiritual meaning. This indicates that the relationship among spiritual intimacy, marital intimacy, and well-being was primarily a result of the meaning that spiritual intimacy brought to one's marriage and well-being, and that without spiritual meaning greater spirituality could negatively influence one's marriage and well-being. These findings suggest the central place of spiritual meaning in understanding the relationship of spiritual intimacy to marital intimacy and to well-being.

Perspectives on spirituality at the end of life: a meta-summary.

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Williams, Anna-Leila

2006-12-01

A meta-summary of the qualitative literature on spiritual perspectives of adults who are at the end of life was undertaken to summarily analyze the research to date and identify areas for future research on the relationship of spirituality with physical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes in the health care setting. Included were all English language reports from 1966 to the present catalogued in PubMed, Medline, PsycInfo, and CINAHL, identifiable as qualitative investigations of the spiritual perspectives of adults at the end of life. The final sample includes 11 articles, collectively representing data from 217 adults. The preponderance of participants had a diagnosis of cancer; those with HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, and ALS were also represented. Approximately half the studies were conducted in the United States; others were performed in Australia, Finland, Scotland, and Taiwan. Following a process of theme extraction and abstraction, thematic patterns emerged and effect sizes were calculated. A spectrum of spirituality at the end of life encompassing spiritual despair (alienation, loss of self, dissonance), spiritual work (forgiveness, self-exploration, search for balance), and spiritual well-being (connection, self-actualization, consonance) emerged. The findings from this meta-summary confirm the fundamental importance of spirituality at the end of life and highlight the shifts in spiritual health that are possible when a terminally ill person is able to do the necessary spiritual work. Existing end-of-life frameworks neglect spiritual work and consequently may be deficient in guiding research. The area of spiritual work is fertile ground for further investigation, especially interventions aimed at improving spiritual health and general quality of life among the dying.

Family Spirituality and Family Health Among Korean-American Elderly Couples.

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Kim, Suk-Sun; Kim-Godwin, Yeoun Soo; Koenig, Harold G

2016-04-01

Spirituality has been regarded as an individual and private matter; consequently, research on spirituality as a family phenomenon has been largely neglected. In addition, most published research has been focused on Western cultures. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of family spirituality and how it influences health among Korean-American elderly couples who are the first generation to reside in the Southeastern USA. A thematic and interpretive data analysis method was used. Thirteen elderly couples (N = 26) participated in in-depth individual interviews in Korean with the primary author. Interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and then translated by two bilingual researchers with a background in Korean and American culture. Three main themes of family spirituality were identified: (1) family togetherness, (2) family interdependence, and (3) family coping. Also, participants reported that family spirituality strengthened family health by fostering family commitment, improving emotional well-being, developing new healthy behaviors, and providing healing experiences. This finding implies that healthcare providers need to assess family spiritual issues of elderly couples to maximize their strengths for coping with health problems. As our society becomes more culturally diverse, healthcare providers should seek to understand family spirituality from different cultural perspectives to develop a more holistic approach to care.

Interventions by Hospital Nurses for the Spiritual Needs of Patients ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2018-05-22

May 22, 2018 ... stated that they never practiced spiritual care-related nursing, 97.5% of them stated that they ... be considered separate to normal nursing care.[3,4] ...... depression in women with a recent diagnosis of gynecological cancer.

The Role of Doctors and Other Health Personnel in Promotion of the Community\\'s Islamic Spiritual Health

OpenAIRE

Freidoun Azizi; Akram Heidari

2017-01-01

Human health includes physical, social, mental and spiritual dimensions and medicine is perfect when all aspects of health are considered. There are several reasons for the need for health personnel familiarity with issues related to spiritual health that some of them are: Finding best responds to the spiritual needs of patients, the use of spiritual care to improve health in four levels of prevention, the correct decision when creating a conflict between the spiritual beliefs of the patient ...

The spiritual experience index: A measure of spiritual maturity.

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Genia, V

1991-12-01

The Spiritual Experience Index was developed to measure spiritual maturity in persons of diverse religious and spiritual beliefs. The scale was constructed from a developmental rather than a multidimensional conceptualization of faith. Initial findings from a religiously heterogeneous college sample indicated good reliability for the SEI and supported its use as a unidimensional measure. Higher scores on the SEI were significantly related to lower dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity. The SEI was also moderately related to higher religious participation and positively correlated with intrinsicness and quest. However, compared with the intrinsic and quest scales, the SEI emerged as the strongest indicator of adaptive spiritual functioning. Directions for future research are suggested.

Spirituality is associated with better prostate cancer treatment decision making experiences.

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Mollica, Michelle A; Underwood, Willie; Homish, Gregory G; Homish, D Lynn; Orom, Heather

2016-02-01

This study examined whether spiritual beliefs are associated with greater decision-making satisfaction, lower decisional conflict and decision-making difficulty with the decision-making process in newly diagnosed men with prostate cancer. Participants were 1114 men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer who had recently made their treatment decision, but had not yet been treated. We used multivariable linear regression to analyze relationships between spirituality and decision-making satisfaction, decisional conflict, and decision-making difficulty, controlling for optimism and resilience, and clinical and sociodemographic factors. Results indicated that greater spirituality was associated with greater decision-making satisfaction (B = 0.02; p conflict (B = -0.42; p spiritual beliefs may be a coping resource during the treatment decision-making process. Providing opportunities for patients to integrate their spiritual beliefs and their perceptions of their cancer diagnosis and trajectory could help reduce patient uncertainty and stress during this important phase of cancer care continuum.

The relationship between the spiritual attitude of the family caregivers of older patients with stroke and their burden.

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Torabi Chafjiri, Razieh; Navabi, Nasrin; Shamsalinia, Abbas; Ghaffari, Fatemeh

2017-01-01

Stroke is a chronic condition that necessitates multidimensional and overwhelming care. The caregivers of stroke patients are faced with various stressors that can threaten different aspects of their health, especially their mental health. Spiritual attitude and being spiritually oriented contribute significantly to mental health and can be used as a strategy for adapting to the stressful events that are part of the role of caregiving. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the relationship between the spiritual attitude of the family caregivers of older patients with stroke and their burden. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016. The study population consisted of all the family caregivers of older patients with stroke presenting to health care centers and nursing service companies of Gilan Province in Iran. The participants were selected through convenience sampling and consisted of 407 participants. Data were collected using the Spiritual Attitude Scale and the Caregiver Burden Inventory and were then analyzed in SPSS-18 using Pearson's correlation coefficient at a significance level of 0.05. The results showed that 88.9% of the caregivers were females. The mean age of the participants was 38.3±8.8 years. The duration of caregiving was relationship was observed in this study between the mean score of spiritual attitude and the total score of burden in all its dimensions, namely, time dependence, as well as the developmental, physical, social and emotional dimensions. Providing strategies for improving spirituality, such as teaching spiritual self-care, can improve their burden. Given that such strategies are psychologically approved and pose no side effects, they can be used as an effective, low-cost and risk-free approach for all caregivers, so that they can acquire the necessary spiritual support for overcoming the stress caused by caring for family members through the reinforcement of their spiritual beliefs in the ultimate

The use of life review to enhance spiritual well-being in patients with terminal illnesses: An integrative review.

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Kwan, Cecilia W M; Ng, Marques S N; Chan, Carmen W H

2017-12-01

To conduct an integrative review of the current literature on using life review as an intervention to address the spiritual need of patients with terminal illnesses. Palliative care highlights the holistic approach of care including the spiritual aspect. Life review has been used in palliative nursing intending to enhance patients' emotional and spiritual well-being, and quality of life. However, there is a lack of publications that provide a structured overview on life review programmes and their effectiveness. Integrative review. The Whittemore and Knafl integrative review method was used. Five major online databases were included in our literature search. The keywords used were "life review" and "palliative care, terminal care, terminally ill, death & dying, hospice, spiritual wellbeing, spirituality". Seven primary papers were identified, critically appraised and synthesised in the final review. There are limited clinical studies on life review programmes for patients with terminal illness. The research design of these studies is too widely varied for meta-analysis. Here, we identified two major programmes of life review as an intervention to address the spiritual well-being of patients with terminal illness. However, repeated studies on the effectiveness of these two programmes are lacking. The shorter programme of life review is more likely to be applicable and effective for terminal patients. Further research in this area is required to provide strong evidence on the effectiveness and applicability of life review in patients receiving palliative care. This review adds weight to the need of a better understanding on the use of life review in addressing the spiritual needs of patients with terminal illness. Such understanding would provide evidence for the use of life review as an alternative approach in palliative care delivery. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relationship between mental health and spiritual wellbeing among hemodialysis patients: a correlation study

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Beatriz Bertolaccini Martinez

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: The stress of living with a terminal disease has a negative impact on the mental health of hemodialysis (HD patients. Spirituality is a potential coping mechanism for stressful experiences. Studies on the relationship between spirituality and mental health among HD patients are scarce. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between mental health and spiritual well-being among HD patients. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional observational study on hemodialysis patients at a single center in Brazil, between January and December 2011. METHODS : Mental health was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire and spiritual wellbeing was assessed using the Spiritual Wellbeing Scale; 150 HD patients participated in the study. RESULTS : A significant correlation was found between mental health and spiritual wellbeing (P = 0.001. Spiritual wellbeing was the strongest predictor of mental health, psychological distress, sleep disturbance and psychosomatic complaints. CONCLUSION: Poor mental health was associated with lower spiritual wellbeing. This has important implications for delivery of palliative care to HD patients.

Religion, spirituality, and medicine: research findings and implications for clinical practice.

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Koenig, Harold G

2004-12-01

A growing body of scientific research suggests connections between religion, spirituality, and both mental and physical health. The findings are particularly strong in patients with severe or chronic illnesses who are having stressful psychologic and social changes, as well as existential struggles related to meaning and purpose. Recent studies indicate that religious beliefs influence medical decisions, such as the use of chemotherapy and other life-saving treatments, and at times may conflict with medical care. This article addresses the ways physicians can use such information. Spirituality is an area that makes many physicians uncomfortable, since training in medical schools and continuing medical education programs are limited. Not only do most physicians lack the necessary training, they worry about spending additional time with patients and overstepping ethical boundaries. While these concerns are valid, each can be addressed in a sensible way. Taking a spiritual history, supporting the patient's beliefs, and orchestrating the fulfillment of spiritual needs are among the topics this article will address. The goal is to help physicians provide medical care that is sensitive to the way many patients understand and cope with medical illness.

Spiritual well-being and moral distress among Iranian nurses.

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Soleimani, Mohammad Ali; Sharif, Saeed Pahlevan; Yaghoobzadeh, Ameneh; Sheikhi, Mohammad Reza; Panarello, Bianca; Win, Ma Thin Mar

2016-06-16

Moral distress is increasingly recognized as a problem affecting healthcare professionals, especially nurses. If not addressed, it may create job dissatisfaction, withdrawal from the moral dimensions of patient care, or even encourage one to leave the profession. Spiritual well-being is a concept which is considered when dealing with problems and stress relating to a variety of issues. This research aimed to examine the relationship between spiritual well-being and moral distress among a sample of Iranian nurses and also to study the determinant factors of moral distress and spiritual well-being in nurses. A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed to collect data from 193 nurses using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale and the Moral Distress Scale-Revised. This study was approved by the Regional Committee of Medical Research Ethics. The ethical principles of voluntary participation, anonymity, and confidentiality were considered. Mean scores of spiritual well-being and moral distress were 94.73 ± 15.89 and 109.56 ± 58.70, respectively. There was no significant correlation between spiritual well-being and moral distress (r = -.053, p = .462). Marital status and job satisfaction were found to be independent predictors of spiritual well-being. However, gender and educational levels were found to be independent predictors for moral distress. Age, working in rotation shifts, and a tendency to leave the current job also became significant after adjusting other factors for moral distress. This study could not support the relationship between spiritual well-being and moral distress. However, the results showed that moral distress is related to many elements including individual ideals and differences as well as organizational factors. Informing nurses about moral distress and its consequences, establishing periodic consultations, and making some organizational arrangement may play an important role in the identification and management of moral distress and

Religion, Spirituality, and HIV Clinical Outcomes: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

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Doolittle, B R; Justice, A C; Fiellin, D A

2018-06-01

This systematic review evaluates the association between religion, spirituality and clinical outcomes in HIV-infected individuals. A systematic literature review was conducted for all English language articles published between 1980 and 2016 in relevant databases. Six hundred fourteen studies were evaluated. 15 met inclusion criteria. Ten (67%) studies reported a positive association between religion or spirituality and a clinical HIV outcome. Two (13%) studies failed to detect such an association; and two (13%) demonstrated a negative association. One study (7%) identified features of religiosity and spirituality that had both negative and positive associations with HIV clinical outcomes. Recognizing the religious or spiritual commitments of patients may serve as an important component of patient care. Further longitudinal studies and interventions might be required to further clarify the potential impact of religion and spirituality on HIV clinical outcomes.

The Psychology of Youth Faith Formation : A Care-giving Faith?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Counted, Agina Victor

2016-01-01

The present study explores the individual differences in the experience of faith formation using the framework of attachment theory, as it looks at what inspires attachment behaviours toward God. The experience of faith formation is herewith conceptualised in this study as a care-giving experience,

Influence of intestinal stoma on spiritual quality of life of U.S. veterans.

Science.gov (United States)

Baldwin, Carol M; Grant, Marcia; Wendel, Christopher; Rawl, Susan; Schmidt, C Max; Ko, Clifford; Krouse, Robert S

2008-09-01

To examine spiritual quality of life (QOL) of veterans with intestinal ostomies. Mixed-method cross-sectional. Male veterans with total scores in the upper (n = 59) and lower (n = 61) quartiles of the City of Hope Quality-of-Life-Ostomy survey provided spiritual QOL data. Analyses included chi-square and analysis of variance with significance set at p < .05. Content analysis was used to explicate narratives and focus groups. The high spiritual QOL group was more likely to be married, older, and report more years since surgery (each p < .0001). Upper quartile participants had more favorable scores for several spiritual QOL domains (all p < .0001). Qualitative comments reflected high or low total QOL scores. Spiritual QOL is influenced by an intestinal stoma. Qualitative comments lend insight into the meaning of spirituality items. Findings can assist in the provision of holistic care in this population.

The relationship between the spiritual attitude of the family caregivers of older patients with stroke and their burden

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torabi Chafjiri R

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Razieh Torabi Chafjiri,1 Nasrin Navabi,2 Abbas Shamsalinia,2 Fatemeh Ghaffari2 1Gilan University of Medical Sciences, Rudsar Shahid Ansari Hospital, Rudsar, Gilan, Iran; 2Ramsar Nursing Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Mazandaran, Iran Introduction: Stroke is a chronic condition that necessitates multidimensional and overwhelming care. The caregivers of stroke patients are faced with various stressors that can threaten different aspects of their health, especially their mental health. Spiritual attitude and being spiritually oriented contribute significantly to mental health and can be used as a strategy for adapting to the stressful events that are part of the role of caregiving. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the relationship between the spiritual attitude of the family caregivers of older patients with stroke and their burden.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 2016. The study population consisted of all the family caregivers of older patients with stroke presenting to health care centers and nursing service companies of Gilan Province in Iran. The participants were selected through convenience sampling and consisted of 407 participants. Data were collected using the Spiritual Attitude Scale and the Caregiver Burden Inventory and were then analyzed in SPSS-18 using Pearson’s correlation coefficient at a significance level of 0.05.Results: The results showed that 88.9% of the caregivers were females. The mean age of the participants was 38.3±8.8 years. The duration of caregiving was <5 years in 84.4% of the participants, while its mean was 4.2±2.5 years. The mean score of spiritual attitude was 108.77±6.20. The majority of the participants (49.3% had moderate and relatively favorable spiritual attitude (a score of 72–120, 27.8% had high or favorable spiritual attitude; 8.7% had mild burden, 54.4% had moderate burden

Psychometric testing of the properties of the spiritual health scale short form.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiao, Ya-Chu; Chiang, Yi-Chien; Lee, Hsiang-Chun; Han, Chin-Yen

2013-11-01

To further examine the psychometric properties of the spiritual health scale short form, including its reliability and validity. Spirituality is one of the main factors associated with good health outcomes. A reliable and valid instrument to measure spirituality is essential to identify the spiritual needs of an individual and to evaluate the effect of spiritual care. A cross-sectional study design was used. The study was conducted in six nursing schools in northern, central and southern Taiwan. The inclusion criterion for participants was nursing students with clinical practice experience. Initially, 1141 participants were recruited for the study, but 67 were absent and 48 did not complete the questionnaires. A total of 1026 participants were finally recruited, indicating a response rate of 89·9%. The psychometric testing of the spiritual health scale short form included construct validity with confirmatory factor analysis, known-group validity and internal consistency reliability. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model as an acceptable model fit. In the known-group validity, the results indicated that people who are in the category of primary religious affiliation have better spiritual health than people in the category of secondary religious affiliation and atheism. The result also indicated that the 24-item spiritual health scale short form achieved an acceptable internal consistency coefficient. The findings suggest that the spiritual health scale short form is a valid and reliable instrument for the appraisal of individual spiritual health. The spiritual health scale short form could provide useful information to guide clinical practice in assessing and managing people's spiritual health in Taiwan. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Hope in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Yaghoobzadeh, Ameneh; Soleimani, Mohammad Ali; Allen, Kelly A; Chan, Yiong Huak; Herth, Kaye A

2018-06-01

Spirituality and hope have been identified as important constructs in health research, since both are thought to enhance a person's ability to cope with the consequences of serious illness. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between spiritual well-being and hope in patients with cardiovascular disease. Using descriptive, correlational methodology, the investigator gathered data on a convenience sample of 500 patients with cardiovascular disease who were hospitalized in a medical institution in Iran. The study was conducted over a four-month period. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) and the Herth Hope Index (HHI). The mean score on the SWBS and HHI was 86.21 (SD 12.46) and 34.80 (SD 5.05), respectively. Multivariate predictors for spiritual well-being were female gender (p = 0.047), religiosity (p = 0.018), and hope (p spiritual well-being (p spiritual well-being and hope. Therefore, this study has implications for those providing care to patients with cardiovascular disease.

Selecting the Best Version of SHALOM to Assess Spiritual Well-Being

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John Fisher

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This paper extends the reporting of contemporary use of the Spiritual Health and Life-Orientation Measure (SHALOM, which provides flexibility to researchers, enabling them to choose the version of the instrument that best suits the cohort under investigation. SHALOM was built on a solid theoretical foundation, provided by the Four Domains Model of Spiritual Health/Well-Being. It comprises 20 items that assess spiritual well-being, as reflected in the quality of relationships that each person has with themselves, others, the environment, and/or with God. Summary results are reported from 30 recent studies. SHALOM provides a unique form of assessment that is statistically stronger than just assessing lived experiences, in that spiritual harmony/dissonance is studied by comparing each person’s “lived experiences” with her/his “ideals” for spiritual well-being. SHALOM has been sought for use with hundreds of studies in 29 languages, in education, healthcare and wider community. A generic form of SHALOM was developed to expand the Transcendental domain to include more than God. However, recent studies have shown that relating with God is most important for spiritual well-being. The best version of SHALOM to assess spiritual well-being depends on the needs of the clients/participants and the project goals of the researcher. This will involve a selection between the original form of Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire-SHALOM for comparison with other measures and investigation of characteristics influencing spiritual well-being; or the dissonance method for spiritual care; and either the original or the generic version of SHALOM for use with non-religious/secular participants.

Enhancing Spiritualism in Virtual World

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Dangwal, Kiran Lata; Singh, Shireesh Pal

2012-01-01

Spiritualism is one word which puts man on the highest plinth of life. Spirituality is the way we find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace in life. Spirituality in the virtual World is generally known as Virtual Spirituality. A goldmine of wisdom from all kinds of religious and spiritual philosophies, traditions and practices can be found in…

Spiritual Distress in Bereavement: Evolution of a Research Program

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Laurie A. Burke

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Many mourners turn to their spiritual beliefs and traditions when confronted by the death of a loved one. However, prior studies have either focused primarily on the benefits of faith following loss or studied spiritual struggle outside the context of bereavement. Moreover, scales to measure bereavement-related crises of faith and interventions specifically designed for spiritually inclined, distressed grievers are virtually non-existent. Our program of research, which to date has consisted of working with Christian grievers and is outlined below, elucidates complicated spiritual grief (CSG—a spiritual crisis following the loss of a loved one. For example, our longitudinal examination of 46 African American homicide survivors established the relation between positive religious coping, CSG, and complicated grief (CG, to clarify whether religious coping more strongly predicted bereavement distress or vice versa, with a follow-up study that determined the relation between religious coping and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD and depression. We replicated and expanded these findings with a diverse sample of 150 grievers to explore the complex relation between CSG, CG, and meaning making in a comparison study of mourners who had experienced traumatic-versus natural death losses. In a companion study, we qualitatively analyzed 84 grievers’ narratives and interviewed a 5-member focus group to capture and learn from their firsthand experiences of spiritual distress. To close the gap in terms of CSG assessment, we also developed and validated the Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief (ICSG. Currently, our ongoing CSG investigation extends in several directions: first, to a sample of family members anticipating the loss of their hospice-eligible loved one in palliative care; and, second, to the development and testing of a writing-intensive intervention for newly bereaved, spiritually inclined grievers.

Knowledge generation about care-giving in the UK: a critical review of research paradigms.

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Milne, Alisoun; Larkin, Mary

2015-01-01

While discourse about care and caring is well developed in the UK, the nature of knowledge generation about care and the research paradigms that underpin it have been subjected to limited critical reflection and analysis. An overarching synthesis of evidence - intended to promote debate and facilitate new understandings - identifies two largely separate bodies of carer-related research. The first body of work - referred to as Gathering and Evaluating - provides evidence of the extent of care-giving, who provides care to whom and with what impact; it also focuses on evaluating policy and service efficacy. This type of research tends to dominate public perception about caring, influences the type and extent of policy and support for carers and attracts funding from policy and health-related sources. However, it also tends to be conceptually and theoretically narrow, has limited engagement with carers' perspectives and adopts an atomistic purview on the care-giving landscape. The second body of work - Conceptualising and Theorising - explores the conceptual and experiential nature of care and aims to extend thinking and theory about caring. It is concerned with promoting understanding of care as an integral part of human relationships, embedded in the life course, and a product of interdependence and reciprocity. This work conceptualises care as both an activity and a disposition and foregrounds the development of an 'ethic of care', thereby providing a perspective within which to recognise both the challenges care-giving may present and the significance of care as a normative activity. It tends to be funded from social science sources and, while strong in capturing carers' experiences, has limited policy and service-related purchase. Much could be gained for citizens, carers and families, and the generation of knowledge advanced, if the two bodies of research were integrated to a greater degree. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Spiritual and Religious Issues in the Aftermath of Suicide

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Dolores Angela Castelli Dransart

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Spirituality and religion have only been marginally investigated in the experiences of the bereaved by suicide (or survivors of suicide. Aim: This article directly addresses two questions: In what way was spirituality or religion an issue for survivors of suicide? How were they helpful (or not during their reconstruction process? Method: Research involved qualitative studies, carried out in Switzerland with 50 survivors of suicide using in depth-interviews. Data were analyzed according to grounded theory principles. Results: Suicide triggered questioning mainly about the afterlife of the deceased and of how transcendency relates to agency and responsibility in the suicidal act. Spiritual or religious issues play an important role in the process of reconstruction for survivors, notably in meaning-making and responsibility-clarifying processes, in forging a continuing bond with the deceased and in honoring their life and memory. Nevertheless, this role is complex and can either support or make the recovery difficult (or both. Conclusion: Mental health and social care professionals may support survivors’ resilience and their reconstruction process by valuing the constructive aspects of their spiritual and religious experiences and by taking into account the spiritual and religious struggles they face to offer effective support to survivors of suicide during recovery.

ENHANCING SPIRITUALISM IN VIRTUAL WORLD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kiran Lata DANGWAL

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Spiritualism is one word which puts man on the highest plinth of life. Spirituality is the way we find meaning, hope, comfort and inner peace in life. Spirituality in the virtual World is generally known as Virtual Spirituality. A goldmine of wisdom from all kinds of religious and spiritual philosophies, traditions and practices can be found in virtual World now. Technology and Spirituality together forms the material to which man can incline on to and work for the development of a globe in which war will be considered a taboo and violence a rejected dogma. Therefore there is an urgent nee to made the world a safe place to live in and the spiritual reconstruction can help us in achieving this.Spiritualism, Virtual World, Online Technology.

[Evolutionary Concept Analysis of Spirituality].

Science.gov (United States)

Ko, Il Sun; Choi, So Young; Kim, Jin Sook

2017-04-01

This study was done to clarify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of spirituality. Rodgers's evolutionary concept analysis was used to analyze fifty seven studies from the literature related to spirituality as it appears in systematic literature reviews of theology, medicine, counseling & psychology, social welfare, and nursing. Spirituality was found to consist of two dimensions and eight attributes: 1) vertical dimension: 'intimacy and connectedness with God' and 'holy life and belief', 2) horizontal dimension: 'self-transcendence', 'meaning and purpose in life', 'self-integration', and 'self-creativity' in relationship with self, 'connectedness' and 'trust' in relationship with others·neighbors·nature. Antecedents of spirituality were socio-demographic, religious, psychological, and health related characteristics. Consequences of spirituality were positive and negative. Being positive included 'life centered on God' in vertical dimension, and among horizontal dimension 'joy', 'hope', 'wellness', 'inner peace', and 'self-actualization' in relationship with self, 'doing in love' and 'extended life toward neighbors and the world' in relationship with others·neighbors·nature. Being negative was defined as having 'guilt', 'inner conflict', 'loneliness', and 'spiritual distress'. Facilitators of spirituality were stressful life events and experiences. Spirituality is a multidimensional concept. Unchangeable attributes of spirituality are 'connectedness with God', 'self-transcendence', 'meaning of life' and 'connectedness with others·nature'. Unchangeable consequences of spirituality are 'joy' and 'hope'. The findings suggest that the dimensional framework of spirituality can be used to assess the current spiritual state of patients. Based on these results, the development of a Korean version of the scale measuring spirituality is recommended. © 2017 Korean Society of Nursing Science

Spirituality as a Component in a Treatment Program for Sexually Addicted Roman Catholic Clergy.

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Hudson, Patricia E.

1997-01-01

A treatment program that integrates spirituality and therapy for sex abusers who are Roman Catholic priests or brothers is described. Selections from an interview with the program director cover definitions, philosophy, women as therapists, daily activity, candidates, and the spiritual dimension. Measures of success and after-care are discussed.…

Pengaruh Bereavement Life Review terhadap Kesejahteraan Spiritual pada Keluarga Pasien Stroke

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Muhamad Zulfatul A’la

2017-08-01

adalah melihat pengaruh bereavement life review untuk penyakit kronis yang lain, seperti diabetes melitus atau kanker. Selain itu, indikator psikologis pasien dan keluarga sebagai output intervensi perlu dikaji lebih mendalam. Kata kunci: Bereavement life review, keluarga pasien stroke, keperawatan spiritual, kesejahateraan paliatif. Influence of Bereavement Life Review on Spiritual Well-Being of Stroke Family Caregiver Abstract Spirituality is a protective factor of grieving process in patient and family with chronic illness. Bereavement life review is one of the interventions which is enhancing the spiritual well-being in cancer diseases. Cancer and Stroke are chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of bereavement life review of the spiritual well-being of stroke family. Quasi-experimental with pretest posttest control group used in study. Sample in this study are stroke family who caring the stroke patient in hospital which is 28 respondents. The intervention group was given bereavement life review with two sessions which given by expert in psychiatric nursing. Spiritual well-being was measured by SWBS (spiritual well-being scale. Data analysis were using a dependent t-test, Mann Whitney and Wilcoxon. Homogenity of respondent characteristics showed that it have not correlation between control and intervention group (p > 0,05. The study showed the difference in the mean posttest scores of spiritual well-being of the control group with the intervention group (98.71 ± 3.65 and 106.5 ± 1.83, p = 0.000. There were differences in the mean scores pretest to posttest spiritual well-being in the intervention group (99.07 ± 2.95 and 106.5 ± 1.83, p = 0.001. Bereavement life review is a process of enhancing spirituality through recontextualization, forgiveness, and reflection proccess that strengthening coping process. Bereavement life review has positive effect on the spiritual well-being of the stroke family which can be considered as an

Screening for Spiritual Struggle in an Adolescent Transgender Clinic: Feasibility and Acceptability.

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Grossoehme, Daniel H; Teeters, Alexis; Jelinek, Sue; Dimitriou, Sophia M; Conard, Lee Ann E

2016-01-01

Spiritual struggles are associated with poorer health outcomes, including depression, which has higher prevalence among transgender individuals than the general population. This study's objective was to improve the quality of care in an outpatient transgender clinic by screening patients and caregivers for spiritual struggle and future intervention. The quality improvement questions addressed were whether screening for spiritual struggle was feasible and acceptable; and whether the sensitivity and specificity of the Rush Protocol were acceptable. Revision of the screening was based on cognitive interviews with the 115 adolescents and caregivers who were screened. Prevalence of spiritual struggle was 38-47%. Compared to the Negative R-COPE, the Rush Protocol screener had sensitivities of 44-80% and specificities of 60-74%. The Rush Protocol was acceptable to adolescents seen in a transgender clinic, caregivers, and clinic staff; was feasible to deliver during outpatient clinic visits, and offers a straightforward means of identifying transgender persons and caregivers experiencing spiritual struggle.

Zkušenost s duchovním doprovázením v perspektivě ignaciánské spirituality

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František Hylmar

2015-12-01

Full Text Available After a brief presentation of basic forms of spiritual direction and after stressing the importance of personal spiritual experience, the article describes Ignatian concept of human being in relation with God and God’s adversary and gives an overview of Ignatian spiritual exercises as a general dynamic of human spiritual journey. On this basis, the paper presents fundamental elements of spiritual direction from the perspective of Ignatian spirituality: attitude of openness, awareness of external events and interior movements, sharing of interior life, contemplative prayer, discernment of interior movements, recognition of one’s own weakness and of God’s acceptance, finding one’s way in the following of Christ. The article regards the particularity of the Ignatian approach to spiritual direction in the interconnection of these seven elements, in their dynamics and in the importance of the examen and discernment.

Religious and Spiritual Beliefs of Physicians.

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Robinson, Kristin A; Cheng, Meng-Ru; Hansen, Patrick D; Gray, Richard J

2017-02-01

The aim of this study is to describe religious and spiritual beliefs of physicians and examine their influence on the decision to pursue medicine and daily medical practice. An anonymous survey was e-mailed to physicians at a large, multidisciplinary tertiary referral center with satellite clinics. Data were collected from January 2014 through February 2014. There were 2097 respondents (69.1 % men), and number of practicing years ranged from ≤1 to ≥30. Primary care physicians or medical specialists represented 74.1 %, 23.6 % were in surgical specialties, and 2.3 % were psychiatrists. The majority of physicians believe in God (65.2 %), and 51.2 % reported themselves as religious, 24.8 % spiritual, 12.4 % agnostic, and 11.6 % atheist. This self-designation was largely independent of specialty except for psychiatrists, who were more likely report agnosticism (P = 0.003). In total, 29.0 % reported that religious or spiritual beliefs influenced their decision to become a physician. Frequent prayer was reported by 44.7 % of physicians, but only 20.7 % reported having prayed with patients. Most physicians consider themselves religious or spiritual, but the rates of agnosticism and atheism are higher than the general population. Psychiatrists are the least religious group. Despite the influence of religion on physicians' lives and medical practice, the majority have not incorporated prayer into patient encounters.

Towards Spirituality After Coronary Artery bypass grafting: A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study

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Mohammad Abbasi

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background and Objectives: Patients are oriented towards spirituality after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG. The aim of this study was to explore the patients’ spiritual experiences after CABG. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using hermeneutic phenomenology. 11 participants (7 males and 4 females were interviewed in Tehran Heart Center Hospital in 2013 using maximum variation along with purposive sampling methods. The interviews were recorded and then converted to texts word for word. The texts were analyzed using van Manen six-step method. Results: The main theme of the contents which were experienced by the participants was spirituality and its sub contents were: trust in God, Supplicating to the Prophet and Imams, and accepting the will of God. Conclusion: The findings showed that the participants who had undergone surgery on coronary artery bypass grafting had a rise in spirituality. They took advantage of spirituality to handle their problems. Using the research findings, members of the treatment team, especially nurses, can use this study to advance care planning and to train patients and their families better.

Hubungan Pelayanan Spiritual yang Diberikan Perawat dengan Kepuasan Pasien Diabetes Millitus di Rumah Sakit Islam Malahayati Medan

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Sidabutar, Rina Rahmadani

2015-01-01

Nursing is a profession which involves caring people from all different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, races, and religions. This world is full of unique individuals. One of unifying factors for all is that every person has needs. In nursing, mostly care needs are physical and psychosocial needs. However, everyone has spiritual needs. Because patients need spiritual care, nurses have a unique opportunity to serve these people. Nurses are also placed in a position that allows them to serv...

Physiological and psychosocial factors in spiritual needs attainment for community-dwelling older adults.

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Palmer, Jennifer A; Howard, Elizabeth P; Bryan, Margaret; Mitchell, Susan L

Spiritual well-being enhances older persons' health status. Factors that optimize their spiritual well-being are not well-established. To describe spiritual needs attainment and identify factors associated with such attainment among community-dwelling older persons. Cross-sectional. Sixty-five U.S. continuing care retirement communities or independent housing facilities. 4077 persons entering the facilities between January 1, 2007 and November 30, 2016. Standardized Community Health Assessment and Wellness Survey instruments were used to determine the proportion of subjects reporting their spiritual needs were met. Multivariate logistic regression identified characteristics independently associated with this outcome. Among the 4077 subjects (mean age 81.6 ± 7.5; male, 28.8%; and White race, 70.7%), 93.4% stated their spiritual needs were met. Factors independently associated with a greater likelihood of spiritual needs attainment were: satisfaction with life (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.81, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.00, 3.96; p dwelling older persons reported their spiritual needs were met. Adequate sleep, pain relief, and having a person with whom to discuss death are potentially modifiable factors that may promote spiritual needs attainment in this population, which in turn, may improve their health outcomes. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Spiritual interventions and the impact of a faith community nursing program.

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Shores, Cynthia Ingram

2014-04-01

Faith community nursing had its formal beginnings in the Midwestern United States in 1984 when six nurses received financial support from a local hospital to work in churches. Over time, the churches assumed increasing responsibility for the nurses' salaries. The success of this initiative was associated with the understanding that faith communities are dedicated to keeping people well. The number of programs increased over the past 30 years and now there are thousands of faith community nurses serving populations around the world. Research for this specialty practice has not experienced comparable growth, and is needed to further develop faith community nursing science. This study, based on the Roy Adaptation Model, used a qualitative design to identify spiritual nursing interventions that faith community nurses use in their practice, and to examine the spiritual impact of a faith community nursing program. Data were collected from faith community members, clergy representatives, and faith community nurses with a researcher-developed demographic tool and a six-item open-ended questionnaire that were both mailed to participants (N = 112; n = 52; response rate = 46%) and analyzed through content analysis. A variety of spiritual nursing interventions were identified. Themes related to the spiritual impact included the physical, mental, and spiritual health connection, caring, hope, spiritual support and benefits, and religious concepts.

Transcendence, religion and spirituality in medicine: Medical students' point of view.

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Rassoulian, Anahita; Seidman, Charles; Löffler-Stastka, Henriette

2016-09-01

To explore how medical students-the doctors of tomorrow-reflect upon meeting the spiritual needs of their patients, and whether they have reflected on their own religious or spiritual beliefs, or not. The study also investigates to what extent the students feel comfortable with addressing spiritual issues in their patient care, and whether they feel this is beyond their role as medical doctors.A self-administered questionnaire was developed. The survey was administered in teaching classes at the medical university of Vienna. One thousand four hundred (836 women and 564 men) students responded, laying the foundation for a thorough statistical analysis.59.5% of the students had reflected on their own belief concepts, 21.9% consider themselves religious, and 20.1% see themselves as spiritual individuals. 75.6% of the students agreed with the statement that religious conviction/spirituality might have an effect on how cancer patients cope. 85.9% would consider talking with their patients about religious/spiritual issues if patients wish to do so. 86.3% would involve chaplains if they feel it is necessary.The results of this study suggest that future doctors want to see the patient in a wider scope than the bio-psycho-social one, by including the meta-dimension of transcendence.

Workplace spirituality and job satisfaction.

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van der Walt, Freda; de Klerk, Jeremias J

2014-06-01

In order to obtain an improved understanding of behaviour at work, employees should be studied from physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions. Although the physical and psychological dimensions of individuals at work have been studied extensively, the spiritual dimension has been neglected for many years. The objective of the current research was to determine the relationship between workplace spirituality and a positive attitude related to work, that is, job satisfaction. A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 600 white-collar workers, chosen from two organizations in different industries in South Africa. The research results indicate that there is a positive relationship between workplace spirituality and job satisfaction. These findings deepen the understanding of personal spirituality, organizational spirituality, and job satisfaction. They bring new insights into the significant role which spirituality plays in the context of the workplace. To survive in the 21st century, organizations need to be spiritually based. This, in turn, will lead to workers being satisfied with their entire work experience.

Spiritual Competency Scale: Further Analysis

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Dailey, Stephanie F.; Robertson, Linda A.; Gill, Carman S.

2015-01-01

This article describes a follow-up analysis of the Spiritual Competency Scale, which initially validated ASERVIC's (Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling) spiritual competencies. The study examined whether the factor structure of the Spiritual Competency Scale would be supported by participants (i.e., ASERVIC…

Do you want some spiritual support? Different rates of positive response to chaplains' versus nurses' offer.

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Martinuz, Marco; Dürst, Anne-Véronique; Faouzi, Mohamed; Pétremand, Daniel; Reichel, Virginie; Ortega, Barbara; Waeber, Gérard; Vollenweider, Peter

2013-01-01

Access to spiritual support appears to be important in the hospital setting. The offer of spiritual support can be done by different providers such as doctors, nurses or chaplains. Who should initiate or coordinate this spiritual care. This study addresses the following questions: 1) How many patients accept spiritual proposition? 2) What is the better mode of proposition? The study's objectives are the assessment and comparison of the rates of acceptance to an offer of spiritual support made by nurses and chaplains. Two hundred twenty-three consecutive hospitalized patients hospitalized received a proposal of spiritual support and were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Results revealed that 85.8% of patients accepted the offer in the chaplains' group and 38.5% in the nurses' group. Acceptance of the offer of spiritual support was positively associated with the proposal being made by the chaplains by the frequency of meditation and age, and negatively related to physical well-being.

"Oh, yeah, I'm getting closer to god": spirituality and religiousness of family caregivers of cancer patients undergoing palliative care.

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Paiva, Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro; Carvalho, André Lopes; Lucchetti, Giancarlo; Barroso, Eliane Marçon; Paiva, Carlos Eduardo

2015-08-01

Within the cancer palliative care setting, where both patients and family caregivers (FCs) undergo a transition from the end of curative treatment to palliative therapy, spirituality and religiousness (S/R) may be a strategy to help the patients and FCs better cope with the disease, in addition to exerting a positive impact on symptoms, particularly emotional symptoms. The present study aimed to understand how S/R influence FCs of cancer patients undergoing palliative care. This study was an exploratory and descriptive qualitative study. The qualitative approach to the data was based on Bardin's content analysis technique. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ-32) was used in the description of the results. Thirty FCs of individuals with advanced cancer undergoing palliative care were included. Analysis of the FCs' narratives indicated that the FCs considered that religiousness and faith in God or a Supreme Being provide them with the strength to cope with the suffering associated with the care of relatives with advanced cancer. Many FCs emphasized that talking about God was somehow comforting and made them feel at peace with themselves. Four categories were identified in the FCs' narratives: (1) increase in faith and closeness to God becomes stronger, (2) rethink life issues, (3) negative interference in the extrinsic religiosity, and (4) quest for religiousness to gain strength or support. A conceptual framework was developed. The results of the present study indicated that S/R are a coping strategy frequently used by FCs of individuals with advanced cancer. The perceptions of the FCs interviewed in the present study corresponded to the four distinct categories related to spirituality and religiousness.

SPIRITUAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP BERBASIS AL-QUR’AN

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Sodiman Sodiman

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Ian Marshall and Danah Zohar predicted theoretically that in the context of modern business will appear spirituality without religion as the moral basis of the business which he described as spiritual capital. But look at the phenomenon in Indonesia, sharia economic development is rapidly increasing which in fact appears based on religious values, then the theory Marshal and the Zohar indisputable. Spiritual entrepreneurship based on the Koran in Indonesia is growing; the ideas, thoughts, willingness (iradah, passion (ghirah and determination ('azm owned by an individual or group (community Muslims to strive in commerce (material or services that are based on the values of faith in God who taught the Koran. Spirituality entrepreneurship models based al-Qur'an that life (living values is very varied, among the models discussed in this paper are (1 spirituality entrepreneurship kaafah models, (2 spirituality entrepreneurship ukhuwah models, (3 spirituality entrepreneurship tareqat models, (4 spirituality entrepreneurship models keep ablution, (5 spirituality entrepreneurship models do not sell cigarettes, (6 the spirituality of entrepreneurship model- publication that profit to charity. Key Words : Spiritual, entrepreneurship, and models of bussines.

Satisfaction With Life, Coping, and Spirituality Among Urban Families.

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Doolittle, Benjamin; Courtney, Malachi; Jasien, Joan

2015-10-01

Urban families face many challenges that affect life satisfaction, including low income, limited access to resources, and unstable neighborhoods. To investigate life satisfaction and identify potential mediators: neighborhood stability, emotional coping strategies, religion, and spirituality. A convenience sample of families presenting to an urban primary care clinic for routine care filled out an anonymous, voluntary survey that included demographic data, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the Spiritual Inventory and Beliefs Scale, and an emotional coping inventory. 127 individuals filled out the survey. Life satisfaction was high (21.3 ± 9). Families in the lowest quartile of the SWLS were 4.5 times as likely to have a child with a chronic medical illness. SWLS correlated with strategy planning (r = 0.24, P < .01), external practices of religion (r = 0.23, P < .01), and humility (r = 0.18, P < .05). Encouraging patients' involvement in religion and certain coping strategies, especially among those families coping with children with special health care needs, may improve life satisfaction. © The Author(s) 2015.

Alceu Amoroso Lima’s Spiritual Itinerary Desert and Faith’s Ecstasy

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Leandro Garcia Rodrigues

2015-04-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to show a little bit of Alceu Amoroso Lima’s (1893-1983 spiritual trajectory, the mainly catholic leadership in Brazil throughout XX century.  Amoroso Lima was a victim of the Agnosticism lived in the beginning of that century, exactly when he rediscovered religion as a source of life and turned into Catholicism.  All these changes happened during his strong friendship with two important intellectuals of that time: the writer Jackson de Figueiredo and the theologian Father Leonel Franca.  Amoroso Lima kept a non-stopping Correspondence with them, and then faced a kind of “spiritual battle” through six years, giving another significance to the Epistolography as a literary gender.  This research follows the “desertic paths” faced by Amoroso Lima up to his final meeting with God, the doubts and certainties, faults and lucky hits, specially in the peculiar difficulties of those who believe in God.Keywords: theology; literature; spirituality; conversion.

Spiritual coping, perceived growth, and the moderating role of spiritual mindfulness in cancer survivors.

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Rudaz, Myriam; Ledermann, Thomas; Grzywacz, Joseph G

2018-06-05

This study examined the moderating role of spiritual mindfulness on the association between spiritual coping and perceived growth in individuals with and without current treatment for cancer. Adults with a cancer history (N = 534) from the Midlife in the United States study completed a telephone interview and self-administered questionnaires. Moderated regression analyses, controlled for age and educational attainment, showed that mindfulness moderated the effect of spiritual coping on personal growth and on positive reinterpretation. High mindfulness amplified the effect of spiritual coping on both personal growth and positive reinterpretation. Further, this moderating effect was significantly different for adults with versus without current treatment for cancer for positive reinterpretation but not for personal growth. These findings highlight the potential amplifying effect of spiritual mindfulness on the effect of spiritual coping on perceived growth in cancer survivors.

The spirituality of 'atheist' student in the secondary school of Athena royal of René Magritte of Lessines

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Derjacques, Erica Agnes Rita

2017-01-01

This thesis analyses the spirituality of adolescent in two public schools in Belgium. The analysis is done using the book, Cultivating the spirit: How college can enhance students' inner lives by Jennifer Lindholm, Alexander and Helen Astin. The study focused on Five Spiritual Qualities: Spiritual Quest; Equanimity; Ethic of Caring; Charitable Involvement; and Ecumenical Worldview and Five Religious Qualities: Religious Commitment; Religious Engagement; Religious/Social Conservatism; Religiou...

Spirituality and Mental Well-Being in Combat Veterans: A Systematic Review.

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Smith-MacDonald, Lorraine; Norris, Jill M; Raffin-Bouchal, Shelley; Sinclair, Shane

2017-11-01

Many veterans experience significant compromised spiritual and mental well-being. Despite effective and evidence-based treatments, veterans continue to experience poor completion rates and suboptimal therapeutic effects. Spirituality, whether expressed through religious or secular means, is a part of adjunctive or supplemental treatment modalities to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is particularly relevant to combat trauma. The aim of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between spirituality and mental well-being in postdeployment veterans. Electronic databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, JSTOR) were searched from database inception to March 2016. Gray literature was identified in databases, websites, and reference lists of included studies. Study quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool and Critical Appraising Skill Programme Qualitative Checklist. From 6,555 abstracts, 43 studies were included. Study quality was low-moderate. Spirituality had an effect on PTSD, suicide, depression, anger and aggression, anxiety, quality of life, and other mental well-being outcomes for veterans. "Negative spiritual coping" was often associated with an increase mental health diagnoses and symptom severity; "positive spiritual coping" had an ameliorating effect. Addressing veterans' spiritual well-being should be a routine and integrated component of veterans' health, with regular assessment and treatment. This requires an interdisciplinary approach, including integrating chaplains postcombat, to help address these issues and enhance the continuity of care. Further high-quality research is needed to isolate the salient components of spirituality that are most harmful and helpful in veterans' mental well-being, including the incorporating of veterans' perspectives directly. Reprint & Copyright © 2017 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Spiritual formation and the nurturing of creative spirituality: A case study in Proverbs

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Anneke Viljoen

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The article is positioned in the interface between Old Testament scholarship and the discipline of spiritual direction of which spiritual formation is a component. The contribution that a Ricoeurian hermeneutic may make in unlocking the potential which an imaginal engagement with the book of Proverbs may hold for the discipline of spiritual formation was explored. Specifically three aspects of the text of Proverbs illustrated the creative process at work in the text, and how it converges with the concept of spiritual formation and the nurturing of creative spirituality. These aspects were, the development in Lady Wisdom�s discourses, the functional definition of the fear of Yahweh (illustrated from Proverbs 10:1�15:33, and the paradigmatic character of the book of Proverbs.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The research is positioned in the interface between Old Testament studies and Practical Theology. The research results in the enhancement of the interdisciplinary dialogue and interchange of resources between the named disciplines with regard to the interest in formation of persons that the biblical book of Proverbs and the discipline of spiritual formation shares.Keywords: Spiritual formation; fear of Yahweh; Proverbs; Wisdom; Hermeneutics; Paul Ricoeur; Symbolic world; Textual reference

Spiritual Assessments in Occupational Therapy

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Barbara Hemphill

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Spirituality is recognized as an important concept in the study and practice of medicine, including occupational therapy. This aligns with occupational therapy’s core value of treating people holistically—mind, body, and spirit. Currently, the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations ( JCAHO requires that a spiritual assessment be given to patients on admission. To conduct effective spiritual assessments, occupational therapists must distinguish between religion and spirituality. They also must be aware of their own spiritual beliefs and practices and how those might influence their clinical interactions. This article presents spiritual assessment tools that occupational therapists can use in clinical practice; they range from history taking, to questionnaires, to observation scales. Guidelines are presented for selecting among several spiritual assessments. A case study is presented in which a patient’s faith tradition is being challenged, which could affect the outcome of therapy. Finally, treatment and intervention planning and ethical considerations are discussed.

Meditational spiritual intercession and recovery from disease in palliative care: a literature review.

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Agarwal, Siddharth; Kumar, Vijai; Agarwal, Sapna; Brugnoli, Maria Paola; Agarwal, Ansh

2018-01-01

Human body is a biological, open system and maintains itself in the changing environment. Disease state is cured by many medicinal systems for healing. Esoteric healing (through introspective hypnosis, meditation and spiritual intercession) is the system where its believers regard Supreme Being as Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient. Such persons take ill health as a boon and pray through meditation that He may by His Mercy grant health or if God wishes otherwise, they happily accept it so that they keep moving ahead on their spiritual path. This study is a review of literature, where results clearly point towards better psychological and spiritual healing in patients who believe in esoteric cures. Modern science in terms of cognitive psychology or neurophysiology has begun to emphasize the role of consciousness but, that is confined only to the physical world. It is only with the advent of Param Purush Puran Dhani Soami Ji Maharaj (200 years ago) that in the religion of Saints, the ultimate consciousness or the Super Consciousness of the highest order has been revealed.

Spirituality and Dignity of Thai Adolescents Living with HIV

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Karnsunaphat Balthip

2017-11-01

Full Text Available (1 Background: Adolescents are a key asset and resource for the social and economic development of any country, with the potential to make a significant contribution to their families, communities and countries. Healthy and educated adolescents are important. However, there are still significant rates of death, illness and disease among adolescents in some countries, where HIV is one of the most prevalent causes of death in this group. Adolescents living with HIV may experience and encounter social restrictions and physiological limitations. Therefore, this investigation explored whether the concepts of spirituality and dignity had any relevance to participants sense of meaning and purpose and whether these had any impact upon their health and well-being (2 Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used involving twenty-two adolescents living with HIV attending one regional hospital in Southern Thailand. One to one interviews and descriptive diaries were used to collect the data and thematic analysis enabled the identification of attributes of spirituality and dignity. (3 Results: The findings revealed that spirituality and dignity were present in the lives of Thai adolescents living with HIV expressed in the main category of living life responsibly. This comprised of six themes: (a Understanding the disease and accepting the truth about life, (b Maintaining hope for a cure, (c Focusing on life’s purposes, (d Making life choices, (e Caring for oneself and (f Responsibility towards other. (4 Conclusions: The findings provide helpful insights for parents, nurses, and other health professionals supporting adolescents living with HIV to obtain a holistic, dignified approach to care that includes attention to the spiritual dimension.

Association between Spirituality and Adherence to Management in Outpatients with Heart Failure

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Juglans Souto Alvarez

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background: Spirituality may influence how patients cope with their illness. Objectives: We assessed whether spirituality may influence adherence to management of outpatients with heart failure. Methods: Cross sectional study enrolling consecutive ambulatory heart failure patients in whom adherence to multidisciplinary treatment was evaluated. Patients were assessed for quality of life, depression, religiosity and spirituality utilizing validated questionnaires. Correlations between adherence and psychosocial variables of interest were obtained. Logistic regression models explored independent predictors of adherence. Results: One hundred and thirty patients (age 60 ± 13 years; 67% male were interviewed. Adequate adherence score was observed in 38.5% of the patients. Neither depression nor religiosity was correlated to adherence, when assessed separately. Interestingly, spirituality, when assessed by both total score sum (r = 0.26; p = 0.003 and by all specific domains, was positively correlated to adherence. Finally, the combination of spirituality, religiosity and personal beliefs was an independent predictor of adherence when adjusted for demographics, clinical characteristics and psychosocial instruments. Conclusion: Spirituality, religiosity and personal beliefs were the only variables consistently associated with compliance to medication in a cohort of outpatients with heart failure. Our data suggest that adequately addressing these aspects on patient’s care may lead to an improvement in adherence patterns in the complex heart failure management.

Spirituality, religiousness and coping in patients with schizophrenia: A cross sectional study in a tertiary care hospital.

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Das, Soumitra; Punnoose, Varghese Panickasseril; Doval, Nimisha; Nair, Vijayakrishnan Yathindran

2018-04-24

Religion is a form of coping that helps individuals to deal with a wide variety of difficult life situations. But most of the research in this field has been in acute patients of schizophrenia. Also, most of the research on religion and schizophrenia has focused on religion and spirituality as coping mechanisms, and research evaluating the relationship between spirituality/religiousness and repertoire of other coping skills is sparse. Our objective was to evaluate the association between spirituality, religiousness and coping skills in patients with schizophrenia in remission. Hence, a total of 48 consecutive patients with schizophrenia were assessed on Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), WHO Quality of Life-Spirituality, Religiousness and Personal Belief scale (WHOQOL-SRPB) and Ways of Coping Checklist - Revised (WCC). Findings were described as patients who used more religiosity and spirituality as measured with WHO-SRPB domain score were better in their managing their stress as they used all the adaptive strategies like planful problem solving, positive reappraisal, distancing, self-controlling, seeking social support rather than maladaptive skills like confrontive coping and escape avoidance. A sound spiritual, religious, or personal belief system positively affects active and adaptive coping skills in patients with schizophrenia during remission, thus helping the individual to cope with illness related stressors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spiritual Needs of Elderly Living in Residential/Nursing Homes

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Nora-Beata Erichsen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available While the research on spiritual needs of patients with chronic and life-threatening diseases increases, there is limited knowledge about psychosocial and spiritual needs of elderly living in residential/nursing homes. We were interested in which needs were of relevance at all, and how these needs are related to life satisfaction and mood states. For that purpose we enrolled 100 elderly living in residential/nursing homes (mean age years, 82% women and provided standardized questionnaires, that is, Spiritual Needs Questionnaire (SpNQ, Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale (BMLSS, Quality of Life in Elders with Multimorbidity (FLQM questionnaire, and a mood states scale (ASTS. Religious needs and Existential needs were of low relevance, while inner peace needs were of some and needs for giving/generativity of highest relevance. Regression analyses revealed that the specific needs were predicted best by religious trust and mood states, particularly tiredness. However, life satisfaction and quality of life were not among the significant predictors. Most had the intention to connect with those who will remember them, although they fear that there is limited interest in their concerns. It remains an open issue how these unmet needs can be adequately supported.

Religious attitudes and spiritual health among elderly inpatient adults in Shahrekord hospitals

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Raziye Sadat hosseiny

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Human is a multidimensional creature and spiritual domain is the central dimension which has an undeniable effect on gaining health. The most important part of nursing care with family based approach is to help people in achieving optimal level of health. On the other hand, religious attitudes and spiritual health is an important domain of life in ageing period. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the religious attitudes and spiritual health among elderly inpatients in Shahrekord hospitals. Methods: This descriptive correlational study was conducted in 1392 in Shahrekord hospitals. A total of 308 geriatric patients who were admitted to a surgical ward, were recruited through random sampling. Two sets of questionnaires regarding religious and spiritual health were used as the instruments. After collecting the data, descriptive (frequency, mean, variance, standard deviation and analytical (independent t test, Pearson correlation statistics were used by SPSS statistical software. Results: The results showed that 68.8% of patients possessed large religious attitude with an average of 140.68 ±30.14. Spiritual health in 51.3 percent of samples was described to be low while the obtained average score was 86.18 ± 16.61. However, Pearson test showed that there is a positive significant correlation between religious attitudes and spiritual health (r =0.83, P =0.05. Conclusions: The present study revealed that there is a significant relationship between religious attitudes and spiritual health and people with high religious attitudes have high spiritual health.

Religiousness, Spirituality, and Salivary Cortisol in Breast Cancer Survivorship: A Pilot Study.

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Hulett, Jennifer M; Armer, Jane M; Leary, Emily; Stewart, Bob R; McDaniel, Roxanne; Smith, Kandis; Millspaugh, Rami; Millspaugh, Joshua

Psychoneuroimmunological theory suggests a physiological relationship exists between stress, psychosocial-behavioral factors, and neuroendocrine-immune outcomes; however, evidence has been limited. The primary aim of this pilot study was to determine feasibility and acceptability of a salivary cortisol self-collection protocol with a mail-back option for breast cancer survivors. A secondary aim was to examine relationships between religiousness/spirituality (R/S), perceptions of health, and diurnal salivary cortisol (DSC) as a proxy measure for neuroendocrine activity. This was an observational, cross-sectional study. Participants completed measures of R/S, perceptions of health, demographics, and DSC. The sample was composed of female breast cancer survivors (n = 41). Self-collection of DSC using a mail-back option was feasible; validity of mailed salivary cortisol biospecimens was established. Positive spiritual beliefs were the only R/S variable associated with the peak cortisol awakening response (rs = 0.34, P = .03). Poorer physical health was inversely associated with positive spiritual experiences and private religious practices. Poorer mental health was inversely associated with spiritual coping and negative spiritual experiences. Feasibility, validity, and acceptability of self-collected SDC biospecimens with an optional mail-back protocol (at moderate temperatures) were demonstrated. Positive spiritual beliefs were associated with neuroendocrine-mediated peak cortisol awakening response activity; however, additional research is recommended. Objective measures of DSC sampling that include enough collection time points to assess DSC parameters would increase the rigor of future DSC measurement. Breast cancer survivors may benefit from nursing care that includes spiritual assessment and therapeutic conversations that support positive spiritual beliefs.

Can "giving preference to my patients" be explained as a role related duty in public health care systems?

Science.gov (United States)

Holm, Søren

2011-03-01

Most of us have two strong intuitions (or sets of intuitions) in relation to fairness in health care systems that are funded by public money, whether through taxation or compulsory insurance. The first intuition is that such a system has to treat patients (and other users) fairly, equitably, impartially, justly and without discrimination. The second intuition is that doctors, nurses and other health care professionals are allowed to, and may even in some cases be obligated to give preference to the interests of their particular patients or clients over the interests of other patients or clients of the system. These two intuitions are in potential conflict. One of the most obvious ways in which to ensure impartiality in a health care system is to require impartiality of all actors in the system, i.e. to give health care professionals a duty to treat everyone impartially and to deny them the 'right' to give their patients preferential treatment. And one of the possible side-effects of allowing individual health care professionals to give preference to 'their clients' is to create inequality in health care. This paper explores the conflict and proposes that it can be right to give preference to 'your' patients in certain circumstances.

Spiritually and religiously integrated group psychotherapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Viftrup, Dorte Toudal; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Buus, Niels

2013-01-01

WE SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWED THE RESEARCH LITERATURE ON SPIRITUALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY INTEGRATED GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPY TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE QUESTIONS: first, how are spirituality and religiosity defined; second, how are spiritual and religious factors characterized and integrated into group......, 8 articles were considered eligible for the review. Findings from the evaluation suggested that the concepts of spirituality and religiosity were poorly conceptualized and the way in which spiritual and religious factors were integrated into such group psychotherapies, which distinguished it from...... for spiritually or religiously integrated group psychotherapy and conducting research in this field are propounded....

The Individual and the «Spiritual» World in Kafka's Novels

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Ulrich Fülleborn

1978-08-01

Full Text Available Following an earlier essay by the same author on 'Perspektivismus und Parabolik' in Kafka's shorter prose pieces, this article gives a description of the structure of Kafka's novels in terms of the concepts 'the individual' (cf. Kierkegaard's 'individuals' and 'the spiritual world' (Kafka: «There is no world but the spiritual one». Joseph K. and the land-surveyor K. become individuals by leaving the world of everyday life and passing over into the incomprehensible spiritual world of trials and a village-castle community, in the same way that Karl Rossmann had passed over into the 'Nature-theatre of Oklahoma' before them. And they remain as individuals, since in this world they struggle to hold their own. As they can only employ their intellect as an excessive mania for calculation in this struggle, any interpretation of the novels must end in the seemingly unanswerable question: how can such a struggle lead, on the one hand, to a free and rational form of existence and, on the other, to some form of relatedness with those strange spiritual worlds? This question has a direct bearing on the main conclusion of this essay, namely that the role of the parable becomes more and more important from one novel to the next: that is to say, the spiritual world attains universal validity for Kafka and proves to be the only world where life has any meaning.