Summary
Highlights
Spiritual assessment is crucial for healthcare professionals to provide holistic and appropriate care. It helps understand clients more fully and facilitates communication among care providers. Research indicates a strong link between spiritual well-being and health outcomes, highlighting spirituality as a valuable resource that can be overlooked if not addressed.
Spiritual assessment is a means for healthcare professionals to understand a client's spirituality. It aims to answer questions like: What does spirituality mean to them? What gives them meaning and purpose? How do they make sense of their health issues? What are their relationships with others and a higher power like? What are their spiritual beliefs and practices? The assessment should be tailored to how each client describes their spirituality, potentially including religious beliefs and practices.
Healthcare professionals' self-awareness of their own spirituality is vital. The literature suggests that professionals with a clear sense of their own spirituality are better equipped to assess and provide spiritual care, facilitating client-centered and ethical assessment.
There are numerous models and tools for spiritual assessment, each with strengths and weaknesses. Examples include Sto's guidelines, Fitchett's 7x7 model, the Jarel spiritual well-being scale, and the FICA method. This video focuses primarily on Sto's guidelines.
The video will explore the assessment process through the experiences of two individuals with significant health problems: Darlene, who experienced a spinal cord infarction and later breast cancer, and Ed, who became quadriplegic after a motor vehicle accident. Both have overcome significant health challenges.
The assessment begins by exploring the client's concept of spirituality. Darlene defines spirituality as her relationship with God or a higher being, distinct from religion. Ed sees spirituality as being aware of a higher creating force, something bigger than himself that gives him a sense of belonging.
Darlene nurtures her religion by attending church, singing in the choir, and engaging with her church community. Ed expresses his spirituality through his daily life, connecting with nature, and art. He also nurtures his beliefs through prayer, meditation, and Bible study.