...Developing a Spiritual Assessment Toolbox A. Wilmer Developing a Spiritual Assessment Toolbox Summary When a client’s spirituality is an active component of his belief system and culture, assessing his quality of life from a mental health perspective would not be complete without an accurate assessment of his spiritual needs (Hodge, 2005). Experts are stating that a holistic approach to counseling incorporates both psychological and spiritual assessments (Hodge, 2005). The accrediting body of hospitals, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), recognizes the importance of spiritual assessments and recommends that health care providers conduct these assessments to understand their clients’ religious beliefs and spiritual habits (Hodge, 2005). David Hodge (2005) presents a review of five qualitative assessment tools for effective analysis of a client’s spiritual and cultural wherewithal. The design of these assessment tools gives a more definitive construction of a client’s worldview for the purposes of integrating spiritual beliefs and attitudes in the therapeutic process and discharge planning (Hodge, 2005). Hodge asserts that this form of assessment allows the healthcare professional to explore a client’s “spiritual strengths that might be used to ameliorate problems or cope with difficulties” (Hodge, 2005, para. 1). The five qualitative assessment tools offered by Hodge (2005) provide a detailed description and comparison of each tool...
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...Spiritual Assessment NUR 645E Grand Canyon University April 3, 2013 Abstract Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are easy to use and provides details on a wide range of aspects related to multicultural beliefs. The HOPE Questions is not supported by research thereby it is not valid or reliable. Key Words: spiritual assessment, FICA Spiritual Assessment Tool, HOPE Questions Spiritual Assessment Taking patients spiritual needs into account is an integral component of providing holistic care. Research has linked positive health outcomes with patients whose spiritual needs have been addressed. However, spirituality is not always considered an important part of a patient’s well-being; leading to spiritual assessments not being completed. To aid in addressing a patients spiritual needs, there are spiritual assessment tools available. Some of the tools available...
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...Spiritual Needs Assessment of Patients by: (student’s name) (course) (date of submission) Spiritual Needs Assessment of the Patient In providing basic health care in hospitals, medical practitioners should not only focus on giving physical treatment to patients but also provide spiritual and psychological assessment and management for them. This practice as suggested by many studies (see Chapman, 2003; Eberst, n.d.,) can help the hospitals develop a new method of healing that is more holistic in approach. The Joint Commission (2005) recommends spiritual assessment program which can help the medical officers to know the needs of the patients aside from the usual physical treatment. It will help them gather information about the spiritual needs of the patient which can then be used to form a new framework that will address such needs and some related issues (Joint Commission,2005, p. 6). Assessing the spiritual state of a patient is not simply about asking them a series of specific questions about their faith or beliefs in life. Patients’ spiritual well-being touches matters that may be delicate to talk about with the patient. The process requires effort and adequate understanding of the reasons behind the assessment activity from the assessor. The task carries specific values that the assessor should acquire before conducting the activity. Such values include being polite in asking the patient and being careful in choosing the words that...
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...of a Spiritual Needs Assessment Sheila Hale Grand Canyon University Spirituality in Healthcare HLT-310V-0104 August 3, 2014 Analysis of a Spiritual Needs Assessment Spirituality is an important aspect of providing holistic care to patients. The word spiritual is derived from the Latin root, spiritus, which means breath or life. According to Bryson (2013), spirituality is an inherent predisposition toward the search for meaning or value in life. Spirituality may mean different things to different people. The Joint Commission, the governing body that provides accreditation to hospitals, requires a spiritual assessment to be performed as part of the overall assessment of patients. The goal is determine if a more comprehensive assessment is needed, and whether the patient’s spiritual view has the potential to affect health outcomes (The Joint Commission, 2005). It is well established that spirituality can have a positive effect on patient outcomes, such as providing coping abilities when faced with illness. “Studies generally support the hypothesis that spirituality is correlated with favorable health outcomes” (Anandarajah & Hight, 2001, p. 85). This paper will analyze a spiritual assessment performed and provide a summary of the assessment interview. Any significant discoveries about the individual, barriers, and/or challenges to the assessment will be discussed. It will also describe the experience and provide feedback on the use of the spiritual tool and...
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...Spiritual Needs Assessment Sherrie Gamble Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V February 7, 2015 Spiritual Needs Assessment This paper addresses an interview done with family member concerning their health related to their spiritual beliefs. An analysis of the interview and reflection on the interview results are also included. Use of the interview tool is evaluated for future use in doing spiritual assessments in order to provide holistic care for patients. The Interview The interview was done in the home of a 52 year old male of mixed Caucasian and Native American heritage. The tool used for this interview was based on the HOPE assessment tool (Anandaraja & Hight, 2001) along with a few questions from the Joint Commission website (2008). Because this writer has had a good relationship with the individual, questions and answers flowed fairly easily and readily, although some prompting was needed at times. The individual being interviewed was also feeling physically well on the day of the interview, which helped his mental and emotional focus. When body language indicated some distress in responses, the interviewer asked additional questions to more fully understand the body language in relation to the discussion. Although the interview went well, this writer determined that more time should have been allowed for the interview in order to gain further depth of the individuals spiritual beliefs and their impact on health. One barrier during this interview was...
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...Spiritual Assessment Grand Canyon University February 2 , 2012 Spiritual awareness is important for a healthcare provider if they want to be effective in healing. This is because religious and spiritual dimensions of life influence the lives of many people. Spiritual assessment provides a mean to patient spiritual beliefs and value so that they can be integrated into therapeutic process (Hudge, 2003). Therefore, spiritual assessments are in important in nurse practice. Spiritual assessment can be measure in different way. Nancy, my neighbor ‘s interview who live with her husband since all her kid moved out. She had a heart surgery. Question1: What are your source of hope, strength, comfort and peace? Answer: My entire members in my family are my hope and my strengths Question 2: For some people, their religious or spiritual beliefs acts as sources of comfort and strength in dealing life’s ups and downs is this for you? Answer: Yes, I am truly believe what God direct me Question 3: Do you consider yourself part of an organized religion? Answer: Yes I am always consider myself is a part of religion Does it help you? It is help me a lot especially in my illness time when I was in hospital Question4: What aspect of your spirituality or spiritual practice do you find the most helpful to you personally? Answer: Pray. I usually prayer alone at night. I pray for all my family and others to have a closer relationship with God Question 5: Do you believe to God? Answer: yes, I...
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...Spiritual Needs Assessment According to Potter and Perry (2009), one’s awareness of inner self and having a sense of connection to a higher being is the meaning of spirituality. Spirituality is a force that provides a person with intrinsic energy that promotes and enhances their well-being. It also helps a person achieve the balance needed to cultivate a positive life and to cope with everyday life stressors (Potter & Perry, 2009). Florence Nightingale believed that spirituality within a healing hospital environment, and caring for an individual’s spiritual needs is just as important as caring for their physical needs (Potter & Perry, 2009). Spiritual assessment is defined as the process from which health care providers identify a patient’s spiritual needs related to their mental health care (Spiritual Competency Resource Center, n.d.). In 2005, as evidence-based research demonstrated a correlation between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and their ability to cope with an illness, The Joint Commission (TJC) announced the requirement for health care organizations to include “a spiritual assessment as part of the overall assessment of a patient to determine how the patient’s spiritual outlook can affect his or her care, treatment, and services.” (p. 1). Patients deserve the best holistic care from health care providers, and it is through a spiritual assessment upon admission that providers will be guided to providing such care. Introduction And Spiritual...
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...significant role in their healing and overall health, and most of the patients want their physicians to address their spiritual needs (Tanyi, McKenzie, & Chapek, 2009). To incorporate spiritual care into patients’ care few points should keep in mind. Discerning instances for overt spiritual assessment: this is the initial step in integrating spiritual care into the practices, it is to master how to detect and assess patients’ spiritual needs (Tanyi et al., 2009). Sometimes waiting for the patient to bring up the topic can smooth the way for them to address spirituality. Displaying a genuine and caring attitude: showing a nonjudgmental and caring attitude can lead to better success (Tanyi et al., 2009). Encouraging...
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...Spiritual Needs Assessment Grand Canyon University: HLT-310V Chelsea Cameron June 15, 2014 Spirituality Assessment Tool 1. What is your faith or belief? a. Christianity 2. Do you consider yourself to be spiritual or religious? If so, why? a. Yes, because I have faith in a higher being and I believe that higher being is in control. And I believe that we are all her as a result of god’s creation. 3. Are you apart of any religious communities? a. I’m a member of my church, Sandia Presbyterian. 4. Is your religion/spirituality important in your life? a. Yes because god is in control. 5. What type of influences does your spirituality have on the way you care for yourself? a. The bible says that your body is god’s temple, and we’re created in the image of god. I try my best to follow a healthy diet, good hygiene and pray daily. 6. How would you prefer for me, as your nurse, to handle issues during your care? a. Understand my wants that I have made obvious in my written paper work (i.e. Do not put me on the machine if I have been declared brain dead). Follow the golden rule, “treat me the way you want to be treated”. Keep my family updated on how I’m doing and don’t hold back if you know that my prognosis is not good. Be honest, treat me with respect and allow me quiet time to pray. Spiritual Needs Assessment This paper will discuss a spiritual assessment tool created by a nurse working on a stroke unit. A summary of the assessment made will be discussed along with...
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...head: SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT EVALUATION Spiritual Assessment Evaluation Steven Atilano Grand Canyon University August 18, 2012 Spiritual Assessment Evaluation Spirituality has been part of nursing from its’ infancy. Initially, nursing care of the sick, was provided by monks as part of a religious order. Florence Nightingale who is credited with revolutionizing modern nursing was said to have chose the profession, because God called her to serve (Nursing-Theory.org, n.d.). Nightingale was the first to revolutionize this thought process, as she realized that healing was holistic, and even involved the patient’s environment. As a result, our profession now recognizes the need to treat the patient holistically, to include the patient’s spirituality. Two examples of assessment tools that assess spirituality are the HOPE assessment tool and the FICA spiritual assessment tool. The HOPE assessment tool uses the acronym to remember all elements of the assessment. H stands for hope, O stands for the patient’s organized religion. P stands for personal spirituality, and E stands for end of life decisions (LaRocca-Pitts, 2009). The FICA spiritual tool acronym stands for Faith or belief, Importance of the patient’s spirituality, their individual spiritual community, and Addressing spirituality (Borneman, Ferrell, & Puchalski, 2010). The author believes that patient spirituality should be assessed immediately in order to ensure holistic care, so a new spiritual assessment...
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...Mooney Spiritual need assessment I believe that in order to assess someone’s spirituality, we as healthcare professionals need to be aware and comfortable with our own spirituality. This gives us the opportunity to care for our patients needs and develop a positive relationship with them. A spiritual assessment is an important first step and a valuable part of the healthcare process, as it incorporates consideration of a patient’s spirituality into medical practice (Skalla, 2005). I believe a questionnaire is the most efficient way to gather this information, which could be filled out by the patient or noted by the healthcare professional during observation. I developed a comprehensive questionnaire which consists of six questions that are developed to asses’ patient’s spiritual needs. I administered it to my friend (J. Nieto, personal communication, February 27, 2014). Acting as if they were my patient and I was their physical therapist. . Question 1- What are your spiritual beliefs? Answer – I am Christian Question 2 - How important are your religious or spiritual beliefs? Answer – I don’t practice my religion as much as I use to or attend church regularly, but I believe in God. Question 3 - Do you have someone you talk to for spiritual guidance or support? Answer - When I need to talk to someone about a problem or for guidance, I like to talk to my grandmother, she always gives me good advice and I trust her. Question 4 - When in need to spiritual or mental...
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...Nursing 243 Assignment: Cultural and Spiritual Assessment Cultural and Spiritual Assessment Transcultural nursing and culturally congruent care are important ideas of today’s nursing, especially in North America. In order to give a culturally congruent care, the nurse should do a cultural assessment; a good cultural assessment will reveal the invisible part of a culture. According to Potter and Perry (2009), “It is important to understand that the invisible value-belief system of a particular culture is often the major driving force behind visible practices” (p. 107). Cultural and spiritual assessment paper gives me a chance to look at my own culture. “Becoming culturally competent first requires you to examine your feelings and experiences regarding diversity, starting with an understanding of your own heritage. Then, you will need to learn more about specific cultural differences so you can develop an appreciation for the values and beliefs of both patients and staff co-workers” (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2010, p. 28). As far as mental health patients, it is an absolute necessary to understand the client’s culture since it has a very big influence on their wellness state. If a healthcare provider does not consider the client’s culture, it will cause lots of trouble and pain for the client. “Clients suffer cultural pain when health care providers disregard their valued way of life” (Potter & Perry, 2009, p. 113). Spirituality has an important role...
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...| Psycho-Social-Spiritual Assessment | NURS320 – Holistic Nursing | 2/26/2013 | Psycho-Social-Spiritual Assessment Psychosocial development occurs throughout one’s lifetime and may change if there are certain factors such as stress, trauma, illness, or drastic life changes. Being able to recognize maladaptive and adaptive behaviors in someone, especially a client or patient, is important when I am the one responsible for the care they will receive. Educating myself on the different topics and questions that will be used during the interview portion of assessing a patient are critical for the nursing profession. The client, SR, maintains a busy schedule daily, and reflects on traumatic past events which are affecting her wellness and state of mind. SR has had complaints of severe headaches and moderate chest pains several times a week. SR stated during the interview that she does not like to take over the counter medications for pain relief, but rather tries to sleep to relieve the pain she feels. She has previously taken herbal stress supplements to relieve chest pain. SR noted many other symptoms contributing to her state of being: fatigue, difficulty sleeping, dizziness, shortness of breath, frequent urination, abnormal menstruation, and concentration problems. Looking deeper into her family history, there are no reports of neither of her parents or any of her grandparents being treated for severe headaches or migraines, but her one sibling made reports. There...
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... The song “this little light of mine” is a source rom Matthew 5:16, "Let your light shine before men, they may see your fine works and give glory to your Father who is in the heaven. This is a gospel children’s song written by Harry Dixon Loes (1895-1965) in about 1920. “This little light of mine” inspired millions. People still sing the famous well-known song today and they don’t really have a clue what is means. “This Little Light of Mine” is a traditional Negro spiritual about the importance of unity in the face of adversity. The first spirituals were inspired by African music even if the tunes were not far from those of Christian hymns. Some of them, called “shouts,” were accompanied by dancing, hand clapping and foot tapping. Drawing on the Bible for inspiration and imagery, most spirituals instruct listeners in how to live with the Spirit of God. These songs often had multiple meanings. The literal interpretation reflected the personal relationship between the slave singer and God. However, the spirituals also translated to code for slaves looking to escape to the North to freedom. For example, as part of the spiritual’s lyrics, “home” can mean Heaven, but it covertly means a free country and haven for slaves. The refrain of “This Little Light of Mine” refers to the light inside each individual and how, whether standing up alone or joining together, each little bit of light can break the darkness. The song has since been applied to many struggles. It was especially popular...
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...Analysis Table | Assessment Results | How would you improve the physical aspect? | How would you improve the emotional aspect? | How would you improve the spiritual aspect? | Weight | Most of the time | More exercise | Remind myself I am beautiful no matter what I weigh | Pray for the strength to stay on track to accomplish all of the goals | Blood Pressure | Always | Continue the path I am on | Make sure I deal with situations in the appropriate manner without getting worked up | Learn to talk to God on a daily and help me guide myself down the right paths | Eating Habits | Most of the time | Research and better understand what I am putting into my body | Feel better about the choices | Pray for the strength to avoid things that may taste very good but not very good for me | Drinking Habits | Always | Control the amount I drink socially | Realize that drinking does not in any way help or solve situations | Turn more to prayer than liquid to help clear my head | Activity Level | Always | Continue to stay positive that everything I am doing is for the right reasons | The more active I am the better emotion state I can maintain | Pray for the health and support from friends and family to keep my head going in the right direction | Support System | Most of the time | Positive state of mind will help to continue help with support | Emotionally having support will maintain positive | Turn to prayer when extra support is needed | Spiritual Vitality | Most of the...
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