SPIRITUALITY

SPIRITUALITY
RELATED CONCEPTS
• Religion
• agnostic
• atheist
• Hope
• Transcendence
• Forgiveness
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CONCEPTS OF
SPIRITUALITY
• Mind, body, and spirit

• Physical and psychological wellbeing interrelated

• Beliefs and convictions are powerful for healing.

 OVERVIEW OF MAJOR
RELIGIONS
Christianity- Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, salvation
through faith and profession, follow the Bible (old and
new testament)
Hinduism- Polytheistic, many Gods, reincarnation, no one
set of scriptures, goal is to be free from rebirth, Karma
Buddhism- from Hinduism, enlightenment, abolishing
desire to achieve salvation or Nirvana
Judaism- Abraham, one God, God’s chosen people, Old
Testament, awaiting Messiah, practice Sabbath and
eating Biblically clean
Islam- Monotheistic, reject trinity and resurrection of
Jesus, Qur’an is God’s word to Muhammad, praying,
Mecca
 COMPARING COMMON
CONCEPTS AMONG
RELIGIONS
• Comparing Common Concepts Among Religions
• Approach to health and illness
• Beliefs about healing
• Conceptualizations of birth, death, illness, and diet
 CONNECTION BETWEEN
SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
• Spiritual Nursing Care
• Discomfort in exploring spiritual concerns with clients may
reflect personal confusion or rejection of religion.
• A first step in assisting others with spiritual concerns is to
assess one’s own personal spiritual beliefs.
• Use of a spiritual self-assessment tool
 SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
• Spiritual Development Across the Life Span
• Fowler’s Stages on spiritual development point out that
spiritual needs and understanding will change as a
person ages.
• At every age, spiritual concerns may be extremely
important.
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WHAT IS YOUR SELF

ASSESSMENT?
• The FICA tool can help you think about your personal spiritual history:
• F - Faith and Belief
• Do I have a spiritual belief that helps me cope with stress? With illness? What
gives my life meaning?
• I - Importance
• Is this belief important to me? Does it influence how I think about my health
and illness? Does it influence my healthcare decisions?
• C - Community
• Do I belong to a spiritual community (church, temple, mosque or other
group)? Am I happy there? Do I need to do more with the community? Do I
need to search for another community? If I don't have a community, would
it help me if I found one?
• A - Address in Care
• What should be my action plan? What changes do I need to make? Are
there spiritual practices I want to develop? Would it help for me to see a
chaplain, spiritual director, or pastoral counselor?
 SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
• General Spiritual Assessment
• Person’s concept of God or a spiritual Being
• Spiritual beliefs and practices
• Any spiritual questioning or doubts
• Source of spiritual strength
 SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
FOR CHILDREN
• Spiritual questions and concerns
• Beliefs about illness as a punishment
• Fear of death and what will happen after death
• Family’s religious values and practices
 SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
FOR ADOLESCENTS
• May not have the same beliefs and practices as their
parents
• Relationships are key to understanding of self and
others.
• Relationships with others form the foundation of spiritual
beliefs.
 SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT
FOR ADULTS
• Values that may have been important in adolescence
may change radically as a person matures.
• Older adults tend to be more involved in religious
activities and to state that religion is very important in
their daily lives.
 NURSING DIAGNOSES
• Risk for Spiritual Distress
• Readiness for Enhanced Spiritual Well-Being
 OUTCOME IDENTIFICATION
AND PLANNING
• Client participation in identifying outcomes
• Person maintains feelings of connectedness and peace
• Continues activities that promote meaning in his or her
life
 SPIRITUAL INTERVENTIONS
• Providing support and encouragement
• Conveying a caring presence
• Listening
• Calling for the person’s spiritual counselor
• Praying with the client if they are comfortable with
prayer
• Touch
 SPIRITUAL INTERVENTIONS
ACROSS THE LIFESPAN
• Those who are dying have extraordinary spiritual needs.
• Companionship
• Connection with important others
• Finishing important “business”
• Life review
 SPIRITUAL EVALUATION
• Expression of more spiritual comfort
• Expression of satisfaction with spirituality
• Demonstrates some of the defining characteristics of
spiritual well-being
• Client is able to describe a number of support systems
to use when spiritual conflict arises.
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SPIRITUAL VS RELIGIOUS
• Nursing Focus

• Religious care: helping the patient maintain

their religious practices
• Spiritual care: helping the patient with
meaning and purpose for life, look to the future,
seek relationship with their divine being,