Spirituality Assessment in Nursing Care Essay Paper

specialty practice series

Best Practices in Nursing Care for Hospitalized Older Adults

From The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, College of Nur

E S = Issue Number SP5, 2011 Series Editor: Marie Boltz, PhD, GNP-BC

Series Co-Editor: Sherry A. Greenberg, MSN, GNP- New York University College of Nursing

Assessment of Spirituality in Older Adults: FICA Spiritual History Tbol

By: Tami Bomeman, MSN, RN, CNS, FPCN Division of Nursing Research & Education, City of Hope National Medical Center and

Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association

WHY: Older adults often need to find a way to cope with serious illnesses and end of life issues while re-evaluating life and spirituality. Research has shown that patients rely on their religion to help them cope with their illnesses and want their clinicians to ask about their spiritual concerns. The National Quality Forum (2006) and The National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care (2009) include spiritual care as one of eight clinical practice guidelines. Hence, clinicians need to incorporate a spiritual history into routine patient care.

BEST TOOL: The FICA Spiritual History Tool (FICA) (Puchalski, 1996) was developed in collaboration with primary care providers as a guide for clinicians to incorporate open-ended questions regarding spirituality into a standard comprehensive history. FICA pocket cards and a demonstration on how to perform a spiritual history may be found at The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health website, www.gwish.org.

TARGET POPULATION: Any older adult facing illness. As people age, they often reflect on the past. Spirituality, however defined by the patient, is often a component of reminiscing that may reinforce meaning and value to a person’s life.

VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: Preliminary clinical evaluation (n=76; mean age 57) of the feasibility and usefulness of the FICA was conducted as part of a larger National Cancer Institute funded study (B. Ferrell, P.I). Content analysis was used to capture themes from FICA open-ended questions along with descriptive data from the single item FICA quantitative measure that asked patients to rate the importance of faith/belief in their life on a 0 (not important) to 5 (very important) scale. The mean score of 8.40 indicated that spirituality was important to patients, and data confirmed that the FICA was effective for assessing several dimensions of spirituality based on correlation with spirituality indicators in the Quality of Life (QOL) Tool – Spiritual Domain (Bomeman, et al., 2010).

STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The FICA provides clinicians with a quick and easy means to conduct a spiritual history. Preliminary data from one hospital and one setting found the FICA to be clinically useful. Further research is needed.

FOLLOW UP: Follow up assessment involves addressing all the issues in the FICA at every regularly scheduled visit. This enables the clinician to make the appropriate referrals (e.g. to pastoral counseling) depending on the findings.

MORE ON THE TOPIC: Best practice information on care of older adults: www.ConsultGeriRN.org. Bomeman, T., Ferrell, B., & Puchalski, C. (2010). Evaluation of the FICA tool for spiritual assessment. Joumal of Pain and Symptom Management,

40{2), 163-173. National Quality Forum. (2006). A national framework and preferred practices for palliative and hospice care quality. Washington, DC: National Quality Forum. National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care. (2009). Clinical practice guidelines for quality palliative care (2″” ed.). Available from

httD://www.nationalconsensusproiect.org. Puchalski, C. (2006). Spiritual assessment in clinical practice. Psychiatric Annals, .Î6(3), 150-155. Puchalski, C, & Romer, A.L. (2000). Taking a spiritual history allows clinicians to understand patients more (uWy. Joumal of Palliative Medicine, 3(), 129-137. Sulmasy, D. (2006). Spiritual issues in the care of dying patients: “…it’s okay between me and Qoá.” JAMA, 296{U), 1385-1392. Yoon, D., & Lee, EK. (2007). The impact of religiousness, spirituality, and social support on psychological well-being among older adults in rural areas.

Joumal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(3/4), 281-298.

Permission is hereby granted to reproduce, post, download, and/or distribute, tbis material in its entirety only for not-for-profit educational purposes only, provided tbat The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York tJniversity, College of Nursing is cited as the source. Tbis material may be downloaded and/or distributed in electronic format,

including PDA fonnat. Available on the internet at www.hartfordign.org and/or www.ConsultGeriRN.org. E-mail notification of usage to: hartford.ign@nyu.edu.

FICA Spiritual History Tool (Puchalski, 1996)

Clinician Questions

F FAITH AND BELIEF

Patient Responses

• Do you consider yourself spiritual or religious?

• Do you have spiritual beliefs that help you cope with stress?

If the patient answers “No,” the health care provider might ask,

• What gives your life meaning?

Sometimes patients respond with answers such as family, career, or nature.

I IMPORTANCE

• What importance does your faith or belief bave in your life?

• Have your beliefs influenced how you take care of yourself in this illness?

• What role do your beliefs play in regaining your health?

C COMMUNITY

• Are you part of a spiritual or religious community?

• Is this of support to you and how?

• Is there a group of people you really love or who are important to you?

Communities such as churches, temples, and mosques, or a group of like-minded friends can serve as strong support systems for some patients.

A ADDRESS IN CARE

How would you like me, your healthcare provider, to address these issues in your healthcare?

Available at www.gv ‘̂ish.org

Reprinted with permission from Christina Puchalski, MD, FACP Executive Director, The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health

A series provided by The Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing,

New York University, College of Nursing

EMAIL hartford.ign@nyu.edu MARrroiit) iNsnruii wtf^siit vwvw.hartfordign.org

cLiNirAL NURSINÚ WEBSITE www.ConsultGeriRN.org

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users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Copyright of Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults is the property of New York University,

John A. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or

posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print,

download, or email articles for individual use.

Copyright of Try This: Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults is the property of New York University, John A. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. Spirituality Assessment in Nursing Care Essay Paper