Spirituality is a concept that is often related to religious beliefs and practices. It can be considered as the belief in God itself and humans’ connection with God. On the other hand, in a non-religious sense, spirituality is also present. Spirituality accounts for the notion of sacred that transcends religious experience (Hodge, 2018). It can be considered as a broader and more ambiguous definition but continues to refer to the experience or interconnectedness with a higher concept that transcends humanity’s understanding.
Personally, spirituality is a means to cope with the built-up stress and hardships in life. It aids in attaining a clear mind and focus on continuing with the daily routine, much like meditation practices and breathing exercises. Concerning patient-centered care, spirituality helps to improve the quality of life among patients with little to no hope for health improvement. Spiritual care elevates the patient’s worries about possible hardships. It is essential to be prepared for the differences between care givers and the patient in terms of spirituality and culture (Vincensi, 2019). Nourishment of the patient’s spiritual self-awareness is essential for the establishment of spirituality as his or her inner resource for health (Vincensi, 2019). This in return may lead to the solid trust of the patient.
In order to provide nursing care to a person of non-religious belief, it might be possible to refer to a human’s natural way of searching for a meaning of life. In other words, patients might be struggling with the worries of being remembered either through their deeds or family members. Therefore, care providers should create a safe environment and opportunities for the patient to stay connected with their offspring and relatives at the time of death and ways to remember them.
On the other hand, for the person with the religious belief, the same act of experiencing spirituality can be applicable coupled with the addressing to the positive interpretation of death as part of life addressed in their religious practices. Perhaps it might be essential to provide an environment with the ability for the patient to conduct their practices such as prayers. In addition, the ability to read the religious texts such as the Quran or Bible will allow the patient to find comfort and peace of mind and soul.
References
Vincensi, B. B. (2019). Interconnections: Spirituality, spiritual care, and patient-centered care. Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing, 6(2), 104.
Hodge, D. R. (2018). The evolution of spirituality and religion in international social work discourse: Strengths and limitations of the contemporary understanding. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 37(1), 3-23.