Human cognition and reaction to certain incidents such as health challenges and social hardships have always been closely correlated with one’s attitude to faith and perception of higher powers responsible for the action. Thus, such a severe challenge as surviving a disaster inevitably results in people’s reconsideration of their life, values, and recognition of spiritual powers. According to researchers, there exist four major categories of spiritual needs that arise as an aftermath of surviving a natural disaster, including spiritual practices, relationship with a Higher Power, meaning-making, or finding a life purpose, and social support from the spirituality community and leaders (Deloso, 2018). Thus, for instance, when undergoing physical and psychological rehabilitation from an earthquake, many people tend to re-evaluate their lives and cognitions as to the true purpose of their existence and their goal on earth (Rahmawati & Reni, 2019). For this reason, it is of paramount importance for healthcare professionals to take into account the aspect of faith when communicating with individual patients or even whole communities in order not to disrupt their fragile mental state.
There are various ways in which nurses could account for spirituality in their practice of post-disaster communication and medical intervention. First, they should secure cooperation with local spiritual communities in order to assist people with needed resources in case they require spiritual support, yet they do not know the resources to address (Deloso, 2018). Second, healthcare providers should improve their staff’s cultural sensitivity and awareness of various spiritual practices and denominations in order to develop a flexible blueprint of communication with patients and proper intervention. Finally, it is imperative to listen to the patients’ concerns without subjective judgment, placing a major emphasis on their recovery and wholesome support.
References
Deloso, L. (2018). Spirituality in survivors of natural disasters: Understanding the needs and improving the care (Master’s thesis, Arcada University of Applied Sciences). Theseus. Web.
Rahmawati, R., & Reni, A. (2019). Development of spiritual mental after the earthquake tragedy. Symposium Antar Bangsa Proceeding, 1-7. Web.