Spiritual Needs Assessment
Olubisi Sanusi
HLT-310V

August 3, 2014

Spiritual Needs Assessment Tool
This spiritual-needs assessment tool was completed with a friend based on the following assessment tool questions
What is your faith or belief?
Do you consider yourself spiritual or religious?
What things do you believe in that give meaning to your life?
Is your spirituality or religion important in your life?
What influence does it have on how you take care of yourself?
If you had an illness, how would your beliefs influence your behavior?
If you were ill what role would your beliefs play in regaining your health?
Are you part of a spiritual or religious community?
Is this of support to you and how?
Is there a person or group of people you really love or who are really important to you?
If I was your healthcare provider how would you like me, to address these issues in your healthcare? (Puchalski, C. 1999)
The subject interviewed was 34 year old Catherine Roberts who stated her faith as Christian, with a religious background growing up as a kid, but now is simply spiritual without any dedication to rituals, prayer books, etc. She said she considered herself spiritual because she has become more matured in how she approaches her understanding of God and sees God as a higher power who works through everyone to fulfil a collective purpose. She said there was a time she was religious but it was based on the practicing beliefs of her parents, and that she has developed her own unique approach to loving God through the things she does and the people she meets. She believes in her friends and family especially the love for her children which gives her purpose and meaning in life. She believes spirituality is important in her life because it allows her to remain positive in the face of very trying circumstances. She says spirituality gives her a way of meditating on positive aspects of her life and reinforcing the good she perceives. She loves nature and sometimes goes to the park to embrace the energy that atmosphere provides. She also says her spirituality is important because it helps her manage the negativities she may see around her. When she is really down she tries to block everything out of her mind and remain in a state of calm for as long as she can. She says during this period she focusses on the beauty in the universe and draws strength from uplifting melodious music, which is part of her spirituality. Spirituality is very important to her because it helps her separate the bad influences from the good ones and embrace a peaceful understanding when it seems certain things are not positive. She says when she takes care of herself she embraces a clean, positive environment, especially at night when she retires to bed. Her children are one of the focuses of care, and she makes sure she can establish a routine for them that allow her to find time to meditate.
In her response to how her beliefs would influence her behavior if she fell ill, she said she would probably be more spiritual especially if it was a condition that had no immediate cure. She said she would probably take up a serious form of meditation like yoga, since it is something she always wanted to do. She said if she were ill her beliefs would play a big role in regaining her health. She would listen to meditative tracks and spiritual tracks so that she retains a positive nature at all times. She is part of a spiritual community and when they meet they meditate for about an hour. She says they are a great support network, and good friends. She says the most important people in her life are her children. She lives for their happiness, and believes an illness would be devastating if there was no quick cure. She believes if I was to address the issue of her healthcare if she had one, it would to share close times with her daughters and to have a quiet area to meditate.
What I discovered