Being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as cancer, is a stressful experience that can affect many parts of a person's life. In the United States and many other countries of the world, cancer is a major public health issue. It is currently the second greatest cause of mortality in the United States, and in the next years, it is predicted to overtake heart disease as the top cause of death.
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After cardiovascular and traumatic events, cancer is the third leading cause of mortality in Iran. Furthermore, more than 30,000 Iranians have died as a result of cancer, with more than 80,000 new cases added each year. The spiritual requirements of cancer patients can dramatically grow. Spiritual requirements are now commonly included in holistic health-care assessments, according to policy, research, and practical guidelines for health-care practitioners.
Spirituality and religious components of patients' life must be an intrinsic part of patient management, according to the World Health Organization.
It's tough to assess a patient's spiritual demands. This problem stems in part from the ambiguity and complexity of the idea of spirituality, particularly when it comes to distinguishing between religious concepts and judging spirituality in non-religious persons. Furthermore, due of the diversity of belief systems and religious practices, defining spiritual requirements can be challenging, but definitions are important for a shared conceptual understanding. The “spirit” part of the human situation is addressed by spiritual needs.
Spiritual needs are defined as the desires and expectations that humans have in order to find meaning, purpose, and value in their lives. These desires and expectations can be religious in nature, but even people who have no religious faith or who are not members of an organized religion have belief systems that provide meaning and purpose to their lives.
The spiritual requirements of the patients were divided into many categories. The need to find meaning and purpose in life was the most widely recognized domain. Love, peace, belonging/connection, and forgiveness were all expressed frequently.
In Iran, Zeighamy and Sadeghi investigated the spiritual/religious requirements of teenage cancer patients.
A method of careful sampling was adopted. Six nurses and fourteen cancer-affected teenagers and their families were interviewed. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The need for a relationship with God, the need for a relationship with the self, the need for a relationship with others, and the need for a relationship with the environment and nature emerged from the data analysis.
In Brazil, Mansano-Schlosser and Ceolim conducted a cross-sectional descriptive research to assess the quality of life of cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. During the months of April and June of 2008, they employed the WHO QoL short instrument. When comparing domain scores, it was discovered that the psychological domain had the greatest scores and the social domain had the lowest.
Health practitioners are obliged to provide care based on the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs and status of patients, and to play an active part in addressing their spiritual needs and encouraging QoL, according to ethical norms in most countries.
As the number of cancer patients in Iran continues to rise, nurses and academics have been working to create nursing interventions that improve patient quality of life. Spiritual requirements of cancer patients and their relationship to QoL have yet to be identified in Iran. Recognizing spiritual needs and quality of life in cancer patients is a critical component of providing spiritual and cultural care; thus, a deeper understanding of the nature of spiritual requirements and quality of life in Iranian patients is required.
The disparity in findings between Islam, Christianity, and secular civilizations emphasizes the necessity for greater research among Muslim populations. Furthermore, research findings on spiritual requirements among cancer patients of various cultures and religions are not transferable to other cultures and faiths, including Iranian-Islamic culture. As a result, the purpose of this study was to look into the link between spiritual demands and QoL in Iranian cancer patients.
How does spirituality help the elderly?
Religion, spirituality, and/or belief can have a variety of positive consequences for older persons, including improved health and well-being, increased coping capacity, social support, and chances to participate in society, as evidenced by the following study. We contend that these are topics that could help us better comprehend the role of religion, spirituality, and/or belief in discussions about good aging. However, there are some flaws in the available literature that point to the necessity for further focused research in this area.
To begin with, a large portion of the literature is based on quantitative research. Deeper understandings of abstract notions like religion, spirituality, belief, and positive aging might emerge when qualitative approach is used. Second, most of the literature is concerned with Christianity in the United States. The religious and spiritual climate of the United Kingdom is quite diversified and distinct from that in the United States, as is the healthcare approach to aging. Third, while some research have looked at religion, spirituality, and/or belief in relation to successful ageing, the literature has yet to define the link between religion, spirituality, and/or belief and positive ageing as a more encompassing term. This is significant because the possibilities for support through religion, spirituality, and/or belief may have strong implications for positive ageing in our current situation of an ageing population when the healthcare sector is experiencing austerity. In light of these restrictions, the purpose of this research is to qualitatively investigate the role of religion, spirituality, and/or belief in the daily lives of older persons in the United Kingdom in order to better understand how it may be linked to positive aging. The methodology and conclusions of a qualitative exploratory study will be given, followed by a discussion with preliminary practice and research recommendations.
Why are spiritual needs important?
Grief, guilt, resentment, unforgiveness, self-rejection, and shame are all terrible wounds that require spiritual resources to heal. To strengthen our experiences of trust, self-esteem, hope, joy, and love of life, we also require spiritual resources.
How do you meet spiritual needs in aged care?
Many of us automatically shift our focus from our physical health to our mental health. What about the spirit, though? The spirit is not the same as the mind or the body. It's an ethereal force that molds our personalities and influences our behaviors. It's the part of us that asks the big life questions and encourages us to look for answers.
Good elderly care aims to maintain and improve one's quality of life. Spirituality is linked to quality of life, according to the World Health Organization.
Spirituality and faith are intertwined for some people, whether they believe in God, Buddha, or something bigger than themselves.
Others, on the other hand, may define spirituality as a healing relationship with nature, a soothing connection with music, or a greater awareness of oneself.
Spiritual care is an important aspect of senior care. It promotes meaningful aging and assists seniors in becoming the best versions of themselves possible given their circumstances.
Spiritual care can be divided into five categories, according to Meaningful Ageing Australia:
- Organizational leadership and alignment – Spiritual care is embedded and practiced at all levels of the organization.
- Relationships and connectivity – Providing care in the setting of authentic, mutual, and respectful relationships.
- Identifying and addressing spiritual needs – Recognizing the choices, preferences, and wants of older persons, which the care team should identify, document, and share.
- Spiritual care in an ethical context – An ethical framework for ensuring that spiritual care is provided in a way that respects and upholds the rights of older persons.
- Individualized activities and interventions to promote the discovery of meaning, purpose, connectedness, and hope.
At the end of one's life, spiritual care is often more important. Spiritual care, according to Palliative Care Australia, helps people cope with death by allowing them to reflect on what has given meaning to their life and what will sustain them in their final days.
The key to promoting spirituality in senior living is to build relationships with people and learn what is important to them.
Because everyone's spiritual requirements are different, it's critical for caregivers to learn how to effectively support someone spiritually, just as they would help them emotionally and physically. This could involve the following:
- Seeking out opportunities to connect with others through commonplace interactions such as sharing tales and memories
- Allowing people the freedom to express themselves and their opinions while respecting their identity, culture, and variety
- Providing relevant and clear information to aid in decision-making and choosing
- Promoting well-being by encouraging participation in meaningful activities (such as providing raised garden beds for those interested in gardening or arranging music and wellbeing programs)
- Providing residents with access to peaceful outdoor places and natural spaces
Brightwater Care is all about your health and happiness. Brightwater provides senior residents with residential aged care, home care, and retirement living options, as well as support for younger persons with challenging impairments.
To different people, spirituality means different things.
Spirituality can include religion and faith, yet spirituality is not always religious. Whether or not they follow a religion, everyone has spiritual needs at some point in their lives. Spiritual requirements may include:
Depending on what's essential to them, people do different things to meet their spiritual requirements. Some people practice their religion through praying or attending religious services. For others, it may be spending time with friends and family, spending time in nature, or working or engaging in hobbies.
What are the spiritual support?
Spiritual support is often provided by hospital chaplains in collaboration with local religious and spiritual leaders for patients nearing the end of their life. The idea is to make the person feel at ease and at ease with themselves.
Spiritual assistance comes in a variety of forms, much like spirituality. People have various viewpoints on the afterlife, death, miracles, and other things. It's critical to identify the correct spiritual support technique that corresponds to each person's life philosophy.
A serious sickness diagnosis can cause someone to lose faith or hope. Spiritual discomfort can lead to a variety of different issues, such as:
What activities promotes spiritual development?
Finding meaning and purpose in life may be a lifelong process that changes over time as a result of unique circumstances, personal experiences, and global events. A person's level of spiritual wellness, like the other dimensions of wellness, varies throughout their life. It's common to feel a range of emotions on the route to spiritual healing, both positive and negative (hope, forgiveness, acceptance, joy) (doubt, fear, disappointment, conflict).
Spiritual wellbeing has the power to make our decisions and choices easier, to center us during times of change, and to provide us with the resiliency to face hardship with grace and inner peace. Having a spiritual component in our lives may even assist us in healing whether we are afflicted with a physical or mental ailment.
Personal Reflection
Take a moment to measure your spiritual well-being by answering the following questions.
- Do I make an effort to broaden my understanding of various ethnic, racial, and religious groups?
Practice Spiritual Wellness
When it comes to spiritual wellness, it's vital to identify the strategy and approach that works best for you; unlike the other dimensions of wellness, there is no “one size fits all” solution.
- Volunteering in your community, spending time in nature, and appreciating music and the arts are all good things to do.
In future articles regarding spiritual wellness, we'll look at ways to figure out what your meaning or purpose is, as well as activities that can help you maintain or improve your spiritual wellness.
What are the seven conditions for living a spiritual life?
The discerner has their satellite dish aimed in the appropriate way to receive God's messages if they have these seven key attitudes of openness, generosity, interior freedom, prayerful meditation on experience, keeping one's priorities straight, and not mistaking ends with methods. These attributes are a must for hearing God's call through a genuine discernment process.