Spiritual Needs Assessment Role in Health Care

Despite the professional awareness of the importance of spiritual needs assessment in medicine, it can often be overlooked by medical employees. The information acquired during the assessment can be instrumental in understanding the spiritual worldview of the patient as well as providing better efforts of support and care. Moreover, spiritual assessment can help health care staff to find out whether the patient has any unresolved concerns or needs in terms of spirituality. The process of the treatment and coping psychologically can be complicated when a patient is experiencing spiritual distress (Richards, n.d., p.1).

Interview

Interviewer: Hello, how are you doing? Would you mind if I ask some questions about your faith background?

Patient: Hello, I’m fine, thanks. Sure, ask away. What do you want to know?

Interviewer: Do you have any spiritual beliefs that help you with daily struggles like stress or depression?

Patient: I’m afraid I do not. I wish I had some belief in me that will fuel my constant struggles, but I just see no point in them.

Interviewer: I understand. Apart from religious beliefs, what are your sources of comfort and peace?

Patient: I find comfort in my friends and family as they are always ready to support me and do anything in their power to make me happy. I’ve had health problems all my life and was constantly in-and-out of hospitals, but they were always nearby and took care of me.

Interviewer: As you do not have any specific spiritual or faith preferences, is there a way in which any member of the medical staff or I can offer you support?

Patient: To be honest, I would like to be treated like a grown-up. I don’t need nurses or other caretakers to come up to check on me constantly. I’m fine by myself, but when I need help, I ask for it, it is that simple.

Interviewer: How would you like me to address the issues discussed in this interview in your treatment?

Patient: I would like you to understand that I am just a person who needs some medical treatment regardless of my religious beliefs or the lack of them. Thank you for your questions.

Analysis

The person interviewed was a nineteen-year-old American male who seemed to have no interest in any spiritual beliefs and answered the questions pretty quickly and without any emotions. The successful part of the interview was the fact that the patient was willing to share his experiences and did not get offended by the questions he simply told everything the way it was. In future interviews, it would be better to adapt the questions to the personality of the patient so that everything goes smoothly.

The main challenge in completing the assessment tool lay in the fact that the patient had no spiritual background, and the majority of questions in the assessment tool are targeted towards discussing religious views. In the future, a bigger set of questions should be composed, including religion-related and non-related to religion questions. The patient opened with his problems and talked about his family, which was the most pleasant experience.

This allowed an understanding that the patient has big support from his background, and the medical staff plays a lesser role in supporting his along with the treatment. My interviewee was stressed because of the treatment and not because of any spiritual concerns. For example, he said that he had health issues all of his life but did not seek any comfort in religion; his family supported him no matter what.

Despite the fact that the interviewee had no religious beliefs, it is important, so say a few words about the Spiritual Needs Assessment, as other patients may be of different religions and have different spiritual backgrounds. The Joint Commission requires health organizations to conduct a spiritual assessment as a part of the overall patient assessment. This is done to determine how the spiritual outlook of the patient can be in the way of the treatment, care, and services provided by the health institution. At the minimum, the spiritual assessment should identify the spiritual affiliation of the patient (if any exists), as well as any other practices or beliefs important to the patient (Evaluating Your Spiritual Assessment Process, 2005, para. 3).

Assessing the spirituality of the patient and integrating their beliefs into healthcare can be beneficial in building trust in the patient-physician relationship (Eldridge, 2007, p. 51). The most important practical outcome of the assessment can be the patient’s compliance with the lifestyle changes or therapeutic procedures recommended by the physician. Moreover, the spiritual needs assessment can also help the patient recognize some struggles that often affect their help. Addressing these emotional or spiritual struggles may help find an effective way of healing and coping. Physicians that deal with incurable diseases in their patients may find some ways of providing comfort for their patients as well as increase their professional satisfaction (Sagul & Phelps, 2012, p. 546).

References

Eldridge, C. (2007). Meeting you patients’ spiritual needs. American Nurse Today, 2(10), 51-52. Web.

Evaluating Your Spiritual Assessment Process. (2005). Web.

Richards, S. (n.d.). Discerning Patient Needs: Spiritual Assessment Perspectives for Health Care Chaplains. Web.

Sagul, A., & Phelps, K. (2012). The Spiritual Assessment. American Family Physician, 86(6), 546-550. Web.Role of Spirituality in Health Care Essay

SAMPLE ANSWER

Role of Spirituality in Health Care

Introduction

Spirituality is a powerful force in the lives of people. It can help or hinder healing, and it may even be part of someone’s treatment plan. Healthcare providers should understand that spiritual health is an important part of their patients’ lives and should be open to discussing spiritual needs with them.

Spiritual care may mean different things to people.

Spiritual care is often misunderstood. It doesn’t mean religion, it doesn’t mean a person has to be in a certain place and time to access health care services, and it’s not about what the patient believes or wants.

Spiritual care is more than just religion; it’s about the individual’s relationship with themselves, their community and the universe itself. People can access this kind of support through their own beliefs—whether they’re religious or not—or through a belief system that isn’t based on any one religion at all!

Many patients would like their healthcare providers to be aware of their spiritual needs.

Many patients would like their healthcare providers to be aware of their spiritual needs. They want their healthcare providers to understand the importance of religion in their lives and how it affects them as individuals, including their health outcomes.

Patients often express a desire for greater awareness about spirituality among healthcare professionals because they believe that this knowledge can improve patient outcomes and reduce the disparities between racial groups when it comes time for treatment decisions (e.g., whether or not someone is going home after being discharged).

Many healthcare providers believe that spiritual health is important to a person’s overall health and well-being.

Many healthcare providers believe that spiritual health is important to a person’s overall health and well-being. Often, spirituality can be an important part of a patient’s treatment plan and overall well-being throughout their life. Spiritual care can also be an important part of the delivery of healthcare services, such as in mental health or addiction care settings.

Some patients may have a need to reconnect with their spirituality in order to cope with or recover from an illness.

Some patients may have a need to reconnect with their spirituality in order to cope with or recover from an illness.

It is important for health care providers to be aware of this phenomenon, as it can help them better understand the needs of their patients and provide them with more effective care.

Patients facing serious illness or who are hospitalized often experience feelings of fear, worry or sadness, which can limit the effectiveness of treatment procedures.

• Patients who are fearful and worried may not take their medications as prescribed.

• Patients who are sad may not be able to participate in treatment procedures, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. In addition, they may have trouble sleeping or eating (which can affect their health)

• Some patients feel confused about their diagnosis and treatment options because they do not know what is going on with them.

Patients may use spirituality as a way to cope with serious illnesses and life-threatening situations.

Patients may use spirituality as a way to cope with serious illnesses and life-threatening situations. Many patients are able to find comfort in religion, prayer and meditation during their illness or rehabilitation process.

In order to understand how spirituality can impact health care providers, it’s important to first understand what spirituality is and why it matters in our lives.

People with strong spiritual beliefs tend to seek treatment sooner than those without strong beliefs.

It has been found that patients with strong spiritual beliefs are more likely to seek treatment sooner. They are also more likely to have better outcomes and recover more quickly than those without strong spiritual beliefs. Patients with strong spiritual beliefs tend to feel better about their treatment, and this may be because of the power of prayer or meditation, which can help patients by giving them hope for the future, reminding them that there is someone looking out for them in this difficult time, and allowing them to connect with something larger than themselves.

Spirituality can be an important part of a patient’s treatment plan and overall well-being throughout their life.

In today’s society, spirituality and religion are often associated with religion. However, spirituality can be an important part of a patient’s treatment plan and overall well-being throughout their life. Spirituality helps people cope with serious illness by providing them with hope and meaning during difficult times. It also provides guidance on making decisions about their health care needs so that the best possible outcome can be achieved for each individual case (1).

Spiritual beliefs may play an important role in recovery from serious illness as well; there is evidence to suggest that patients who have strong spiritual beliefs have better outcomes than those who do not (2). Many healthcare providers believe that spiritual health is important to a person’s overall health and well-being (3).

Conclusion

Studies have shown that people with a strong religious or spiritual belief system tend to seek treatment earlier than those without strong beliefs. In addition, these patients tend to exhibit better outcomes when they do receive treatment. Those who are not spiritual may experience less anxiety and stress during an illness, but their symptoms may not improve as quickly or completely.