Abstract
The spiritual dimension of patients has progressively gained more relevance in healthcare in the last decades. However, the term “spiritual” is an open, fluid concept and, for health purposes, no definition of spirituality is universally accepted. Health professionals and researchers have the challenge to cover the entire spectrum of the spiritual level in their practice. This is particularly difficult because most healthcare courses do not prepare their graduates in this field. They also need to face acts of prejudice by their peers or their managers. Here, the authors aim to clarify some common grounds between secular and religious worlds in the realm of spirituality and healthcare. This is a conceptual manuscript based on the available scientific literature and on the authors’ experience. The text explores the secular and religious intersection involving spirituality and healthcare, together with the common ground shared by the two fields, and consequent clinical implications. Summarisations presented here can be a didactic beginning for practitioners or scholars involved in health or behavioural sciences. The authors think this construct can favour accepting the patient’s spiritual dimension importance by healthcare professionals, treatment institutes, and government policies.
Highlights
The concepts applied in healthcare sciences are transient, and they are periodically reviewed
The present paper aims to clarify some common grounds between the secular and religious intersection regarding spirituality and healthcare, together with the consequent clinical implications
The field of spirituality and health is growing rapidly, and it is moving from the periphery into the mainstream of healthcare (Koenig 2012)
Summary
The concepts applied in healthcare sciences are transient, and they are periodically reviewed. The religious-spiritual wellbeing can be broadly defined as the ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in existence through connectedness with self, others, or a power greater than oneself (Unterrainer et al 2010) This concept has developed to expand the bio-psycho-social model with a spiritual component, and it may be useful in healthcare settings. Spiritual experiences have important effects on biological, cognitive, and psychosocial domains; their role in the clinical setting has generated considerable discussion within the medical community (Giordano and Engebretson 2006) In this scenario, the present paper aims to clarify some common grounds between the secular and religious intersection regarding spirituality and healthcare, together with the consequent clinical implications. The authors believe this construct can favour the recognition of the importance of the patient’s spiritual dimension by healthcare professionals, treatment institutes, and government policies
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