Hospital Social Work and Spirituality: Views of Medical Social Workers. 2016

Samta P Pandya
a Tata Institute of Social Sciences , Mumbai , India.

This article is based on a study of 1,389 medical social workers in 108 hospitals across 12 countries, on their views on spirituality and spiritually sensitive interventions in hospital settings. Results of the logistic regression analyses and structural equation models showed that medical social workers from European countries, United States of America, Canada, and Australia, those had undergone spiritual training, and those who had higher self-reported spiritual experiences scale scores were more likely to have the view that spirituality in hospital settings is for facilitating integral healing and wellness of patients and were more likely to prefer spiritual packages of New Age movements as the form of spiritual program, understand spiritual assessment as assessing the patients' spiritual starting point, to then build on further interventions and were likely to attest the understanding of spiritual techniques as mindfulness techniques. Finally they were also likely to understand the spiritual goals of intervention in a holistic way, that is, as that of integral healing, growth of consciousness and promoting overall well-being of patients vis-à-vis only coping and coming to terms with health adversities. Results of the structural equation models also showed covariances between religion, spirituality training, and scores on the self-reported spiritual experiences scale, having thus a set of compounding effects on social workers' views on spiritual interventions in hospitals. The implications of the results for health care social work practice and curriculum are discussed.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D011795 Surveys and Questionnaires Collections of data obtained from voluntary subjects. The information usually takes the form of answers to questions, or suggestions. Community Survey,Nonrespondent,Questionnaire,Questionnaires,Respondent,Survey,Survey Method,Survey Methods,Surveys,Baseline Survey,Community Surveys,Methodology, Survey,Nonrespondents,Questionnaire Design,Randomized Response Technique,Repeated Rounds of Survey,Respondents,Survey Methodology,Baseline Surveys,Design, Questionnaire,Designs, Questionnaire,Methods, Survey,Questionnaire Designs,Questionnaires and Surveys,Randomized Response Techniques,Response Technique, Randomized,Response Techniques, Randomized,Survey, Baseline,Survey, Community,Surveys, Baseline,Surveys, Community,Techniques, Randomized Response
D006761 Hospitals Institutions with an organized medical staff which provide medical care to patients. Hospital
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000068217 Social Workers Professionals who work with persons affected by social disadvantages such as POVERTY; mental and physical illness or disability, and social injustice. Their focus is on both the individual and his or her environment, including violations of their civil liberties and human rights. Social Worker,Worker, Social,Workers, Social
D000223 Adaptation, Psychological A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed). Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological
D012947 Social Work The use of community resources, individual case work, or group work to promote the adaptive capacities of individuals in relation to their social and economic environments. It includes social service agencies. Service, Social,Social Intervention,Social Service,Social Service Intervention,Social Work Intervention,Intervention, Social,Intervention, Social Service,Intervention, Social Work,Interventions, Social Work,Service Intervention, Social,Services, Social,Social Interventions,Social Service Interventions,Social Services,Social Work Interventions,Work Intervention, Social
D014481 United States A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D029181 Spirituality Sensitivity or attachment to religious values, or to things of the spirit as opposed to material or worldly interests. (from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed, and Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed) Spiritual Sensitivity,Sensitivities, Spiritual,Sensitivity, Spiritual,Spiritual Sensitivities,Spiritualities
D038622 Internationality The quality or state of relating to or affecting two or more nations. (After Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, 10th ed) Globalization,International Aspects,International Perspectives,International Relations,Multinational Aspects,Multinational Perspectives,Aspect, International,Aspect, Multinational,Aspects, International,Aspects, Multinational,International Aspect,International Perspective,Multinational Aspect,Multinational Perspective,Perspective, International,Perspective, Multinational,Perspectives, International,Perspectives, Multinational,Relations, International

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