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Medical Social Worker’S Understandings Of Spirituality In Patient Care, Sarah Huiskes

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Spirituality is defined as “an individual’s connection or relationship with God or with some other kind of transcendent being or dimension (Hodge & Horvath, 2011, p. 307).” Based on past literature, a patient’s spiritual or faith belief has the potential to influence their healthcare outcomes, coping ability, decision-making surrounding their healthcare, as well as their quality of life (Puchalski, Ferrell, Otis-Green, & Handzo, 2015). As social workers in the medical setting aim to provide psychosocial support, the inclusion of a spiritual assessment to determine the spiritual and faith needs of each patient in order to deliver individual patient care seems …