Clinical Spiritual Assessment Instrument
Spiritual Assessment
Developing a Spiritual Assessment Instrument for Clinical Use
Developing a Spiritual Assessment Instrument for Clinical Use
The Joint Commission (2005) requires all healthcare organizations seeking accreditation to implement a patient spiritual needs assessment policy and recommends spiritual assessment training for all medical staff. The design and content of the spiritual assessment is left up to the organization, but an effective assessment strategy would be both respectful of the patient's perspectives and beliefs, while ascertaining how the healthcare organization can facilitate their religious and/or spiritual practices (The Joint Commission, 2008). The overall goal would be to improve patient outcomes.
Aside from meeting accreditation requirements, attending to the spiritual needs of patients is increasingly viewed as an ethical obligation for clinicians (Vermandere et al., 2011). For example, the American Nurses Association (ANA, 2014) considers the spiritual needs of patients an important component of professional nursing practice. For many patients, their spiritual and religious beliefs help them to make sense of their illness, thereby reducing the amount of stress they may be experiencing. Other important consideration are faith-based dietary choices and attending to religious practices when feasible.
Among the many benefits that spiritual and religious practices can provide patients, probably the most important from a clinical perspective is attributing meaning to a patient's illness and reframing their suffering as an opportunity for spiritual growth (Nadarajah, Berger, & Thomas, 2013). Relevantly, meaning-making interventions increased perceived self-esteem, self-efficacy, and optimism in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (Casellas-Grau, Font, & Vives, 2014). Aside from improved mental health, another obvious benefit of this intervention would be improved treatment adherence. Breast cancer patients exposed to psychospiritual interventions experienced increased hope, happiness, life satisfaction, energy, sense of control, posttraumatic growth, and quality of social relationships (Casellas-Grau, Font, & Vives, 2014). These interventions reveal that helping...
Spiritual Assessment The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO, 2008; JCAHO, n.d.) recognizes the importance of the spiritual component of a patient's evaluation. It covers his ways of coping, prayer life and religious practices, which make his life meaningful. This component, therefore, becomes an indispensable aspect of his total health care (JCAHO, JCAHO). Part of the chosen spiritual assessment of the sample patient is composed of the following questions: How does
Social Work: Spiritual Assessment Instruments for Spiritual Assessment One of the five instruments for spiritual assessment is the spiritual history. This is the only verbal instrument. A practitioner using spiritual history obtains a client’s spiritual information using two sets of questions. The first set of questions seeks to help the client tell their story from childhood to the present. The second set helps the practitioner elicit spiritual information from the client by
While intervention may not make a difference in their actual physical disease, it can make a patient more comfortable, more satisfied, and more at peace with themselves and their circumstances. Patient satisfaction is extremely important for overall patient health and in return visits for continued health care. Studies indicate if patients are dissatisfied or unhappy with their care, they may forego visits or visit another practitioner (Wrench & Booth-Butterfield,
Spiritual Needs Assessment of a Patient For the recovery of any patient, especially those with terminal illnesses, there is a need to have a wholesome recovery which does not only dwell on the medicinal administration but also of the soul through spiritual nourishment. This will ensure they get out of the hospital with renewed strength and faith and hope for a better life in the future. This can only be achieved
Significant Discoveries The discoveries I made about my friend were enlightening. I already knew she did not attend religious services and that she was agnostic, as this had been information that was the basis for many friendly debates in our social circle. I understood her sense of hope and her ability to find joy in her children's joy and learning. I was however not aware that all of her family was
Hospital Healing Component "Description of the Healing Hospitals Components and Relationship to Spirituality" Components of healing hospitals are the radical loving care, an effective healing physical environment as well as the integration of latest technology. A healing hospital must take these three important factors into consideration to be a successful healing hospital. Essentially, a healing physical environment must be quiet to assist patients to sleep so that their cells can regenerate to
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