Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Spiritual care is integral to the science and art of healing, and therefore a critical component in the quality of care.As stated in the Association of American Medical Colleges' 1999 Medical School Objectives Project Report on Communication in Medicine: "Spirituality is recognized as a factor that contributes to health in many persons.The concept of spirituality is found in all cultures and societies.It is expressed in an individual's search for ultimate meaning through participation in religion and/or belief in God, family, naturalism, rationalism, humanism and the arts.All these factors can influence how patients and health care professionals perceive health and illness and how they interact with one another." 1 Academic medical programs are beginning to address patients' spiritual needs.In the past decade, the number of medical schools that offer courses on spirituality has increased from three schools in 1992 to 84 in 2004. 2 For many patients, life-threatening illness may serve as a catalyst to question meaning and purpose in life, raising questions such as, "Why?Why me?Why now?" Healing, in this context, becomes more than a technical cure or fix, and includes a journey to integrate these questions into one's life.Optimally, spirituality provides a foundation for patients to move from a sense of brokenness to a sense of wholeness, allowing them to find meaning and purpose.In this way, spirituality is integral to whole patient care and helps to address patients' understanding of illness.3,4 Spirituality may be differentiated from religion.Spirituality is often framed as a more personal search for transcendent under-standing that may or may not include activities within organized groups, whereas religion is often regarded as a social institution with a set of specific belief systems and rituals.5 Spirituality may be framed as an understanding of "something bigger than oneself" -it may include a reverent respect for God, a higher power, or equally felt as awe when walking in nature.The common ground that religion and spirituality share is a search for the sacred through the experience of subjective feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
Source: The Medicine Forum
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2117447817