Importance Of Spiritual Assessment In Patient Quality Care

Interview with a Mental Patient Suffering from PTSD

Through the continuous emphasis on evidence-based practice in health delivery system, spiritual assessment can be considered as one of the crucial factors that hinder patient quality care and satisfaction (Moreira-Almeida, Koenig, & Lucchetti, 2014). The assessment will focus on the spiritual needs of patients and how it relates to the impact of their recovery. The assessment interviewee is a 26 years old Native American woman. She is a mental patient suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Due to the privacy discretion of the patient, I will identify her as JY.

Part (I): Interview

Question 1: Can you describe yourself as a spiritual or religious person? Answer: Yes, I am a religious person. I was raised in a Christian family where I and my siblings had to attend church services and groups meetings without any objection.

Question 2: How has your faith developed over the years? Have you ever at any point want to change your denomination? If yes, why? Answer: Over the years, I have come to develop strong faith as Christian and as a member of Southern Baptist Convention. With time, I have come to understand we serve one Supreme being, therefore, the need of changing my denomination has never crossed my mind.

Question 3: In case of any involvement in a critical situation say medical emergency, do you believe your spiritual faith has an impact on your recovery? “Does your faith help you?” Answer: Yes, I believe that despite the medical practice knowledge, all things end up in God’s hand thus in case of any danger I would highly rely on my faith.

Question 4: Are there any expectations of you as a true follower in your denomination? Answer: As any other Christian am expected to offer my tithes which I have grown believing have a significant impact on one’s life. Also, spiritual cleansing through fasting and dedication to church is very important to me as a follower and my illness recovery.

Question 5: Does your denomination revoke or restrict any medical actions? Answer: No, there is no any medical restriction that I am aware of.

Question 6: Does your church and/or congregation members have superstitions belief to some of the medical issues such mental conditions to their affected members? Answer: Yes, I must confess that has been a challenge.

Question 7: What are some of the considerations would you like or feel should be aligned with your medical treatment? Answer: I think some or most medical should identify with the religious backgrounds of patients where each person should be allowed to select any appropriate means of recovery at the hospital which he or she feels is the best.

Part (II): Reflection and Analysis

Gibb’s Reflective Cycle

Description of the Assessment

The patient care can be characterized and/or approached both on the physical and psychological satisfaction of the patient. Through my conversation with JY, spiritual needs understanding has a significant role in patient healthcare, especially on mental patients. The conversation and interview between I and JY lasted over 40 minutes which was very successful interview as per my expectation. JY explained that despite knowing she is in capable hands of doctors; she would feel even safer knowing the doctors are God-fearing. With this in mind, spiritual distress can be considered as one of the main things health care providers should understand in minimizing or eliminating patient risk (Moreira-Almeida et al., 2014).

Questions on Religious and Cultural Background

Feelings of the Assessments

Spiritual and religious issues can be considered as one of the sensitive matters especially when dealing with mental patients. Through the interview, I identified that some of the questions I asked during the assessment were very personal to the patient i.e. on cultural and religious aspect. Also, through the ability to understand JY psychological perspective, the conversation engagement was more effective thus allowing her to express herself more openly. Caregivers should also acknowledge that patient recovery is a progressive process which is in line with spiritual nourishment (Puchalski, Blatt, Kogan, & Butler, 2014). With the proper understanding patient spiritual needs, caregivers will be able to align the treatment with required experience and thoughts that will enhance patient recovery.

Evaluation of Assessment

During the interview one of the main achievements was the ability to connect effectively with JY. Through this, I was able to understand her psychological perspective and spiritual distress which directly related to psychosocial, spiritual, and religious aspects. Prior to my expectation, the conversation was fairly relaxed with her portraying comfortable environment. One of the main attributes of the assessment tool is that generally, it utilizes patient and caregiver interrelation experience. One of the main challenges was the inability of the patient to understand the significance of spiritual assessment and in line making the assessment more of a personal issue. The contributing factor to this challenge or barrier was that some questions were against some practices and culture which reflected more on the patient insecurity. Despite JY effective cooperation, she was reluctant on answering some questions on her faith beliefs an example is on the question of church superstitions and misconceptions.

Analysis of Assessment

According to Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations [JCAHO] (2011), spiritual assessment practice must abide by patient privacy assurance and respect to their opinions. As stated earlier, religion and spiritual issues is a very sensitive topic in the entire society. With this in mind, spiritual assessment and understanding are significantly important to caregivers and the health delivery system.  According to Richards, Bartz, & O’Grady, (2009), the entire staff of practitioners and clinicians should have an adequate understanding of spiritual needs assessment while dealing with a variety of patients from different religious backgrounds.

Also, the spiritual assessment correspondingly showed that understanding of patient psychosocial factors is one of the key attributes in having successful interpersonal relationships between practitioners and patients (Lind, Sendelbach, & Steen, 2011). Through this, clinicians are able to have a proper connection with patients by understanding their psychological perspective. The significance of a spiritual assessment tool can be identified with patient care coherence with healthcare progression (JCAHO, 2011).

Conclusion

In conclusion, spiritual assessment is a very significant element in the healthcare system and especially to mental patients. Through the interview and conversation between I and JY, I have learned that spirituality can be characterized as one’s self-reflection and the understanding of their purpose in life. On the same note, spiritual assessment has the capability to accommodate a patient’s ability to overcome illness and generally their well-being (Sharma, Astrow, Texeira, & Sulmasy, 2012). The assessment findings indicate that there is a significant enhancement in patient recovery process through proper spiritual support.

Action Plan

In the event I found myself in the same situation, I plan to have a more “well-structured spiritual assessment interview” with the patient. The idea will be to avoid the earlier experienced challenges during the interview with JY. In line with enhancing my skills with patients, I will also drift my focus in understanding the psychosocial factors such as religion which shape the entire society (Lind et al., 2011). This will assist me in identifying my patient’s spiritual needs and in line also enhancing their patient care. Prior to JY interview barriers, I must account myself properly with my actions and questions asked of the patient to avoid any other misunderstanding or misinterpretation (JCAHO, 2011). 

References

Hodge, D. R., & Limb, G. E. (2010). A Native American perspective on spiritual assessment: The strengths and limitations of a complementary set of assessment tools. Health & social work, 35(2), 121-131.

Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (2011). Comprehensive Accreditation Manual: CAMH for Hospitals: The Official Handbook. Joint Commission Accreditation.

Lind, B., Sendelbach, S., & Steen, S. (2011). Effects of a spirituality training program for nurses on patients in a progressive care unit. Critical Care Nurse, 31(3), 87-90.

Moreira-Almeida, A., Koenig, H. G., & Lucchetti, G. (2014). Clinical implications of spirituality on mental health: a review of evidence and practice guidelines. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 36(2), 176-182.

Puchalski, C. M., Blatt, B., Kogan, M., & Butler, A. (2014). Spirituality and health: the development of a field. Academic Medicine, 89(1), 10-16.

Richards, P. S., Bartz, J. D., & O’Grady, K. A. (2009). Assessing religion and spirituality in counseling: Some reflections and recommendations. Counseling and Values, 54(1), 65-79.

Sharma, R. K., Astrow, A. B., Texeira, K., & Sulmasy, D. P. (2012). The Spiritual Needs Assessment for Patients (SNAP): development and validation of a comprehensive instrument to assess unmet spiritual needs. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 44(1), 44-51.