Responding to the Spiritual Needs of the Chronically III

Abstract

The steps of the nursing process apply to needs of the spirit as well as body and mind. Several nurses have provided guidelines for assessing spiritual needs. Stoll,27 for example, considers four areas of concern: the person's concept of God; source of strength and hope; significance of religious practices and rituals; and perceived relationship between spiritual beliefs and state of health. In approaching the patient about these four areas, it is important for the nurse to clearly articulate the purpose in seeking such information. For instance, a nurse might explain to a patient that research has demonstrated the positive relationship of spiritual concerns to a patient's ability to cope with chronic illness. Because the nurse is interested in assisting the patient to identify, strengthen, and develop a variety of coping strategies, spiritually related data are relevant to the patient's care. Having collected data from the patients, a nursing diagnosis can be made. Spiritual concerns, spiritual distress, and spiritual despair have been included in the accepted classification system.14 Meeting the spiritual needs of patients can be uncomfortable for the nurse. Several reasons for such discomfort include embarrassment, the belief that it is not the nurse's role, lack of training, and the lack of own spiritual resources. Experience with an elective course in spirituality for undergraduate nursing students would support the value of offering training. Discussing God-related issues can assist a health care professional to clarify a personal spiritual position.5 There also is research suggesting that nurses with higher levels of spiritual well-being have a more positive attitude toward providing spiritual care for patients and view potential intervention as appropriate for meeting spiritual needs of their patients.25