Spirituality in Healthcare: Perspectives for Innovative Practice

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vi

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2. What Is Spirituality?

   • Elizabeth Weathers

   Pages 1-22

3. The Psychology of Spirituality and Religion in Health Care

   • Jan M. A. de Vries

   Pages 23-38

4. Spiritual Assessment in Healthcare: An Overview of Comprehensive, Sensitive Approaches to Spiritual Assessment for Use Within the Interdisciplinary Healthcare Team

   • Wilfred McSherry, Linda Ross, Karnsunaphat Balthip, Natasha Ross, Sadie Young

   Pages 39-54

5. Spirituality as a Public Health Issue: The Potential Role of Spirituality in Promoting Health

   • Richard Egan, Fiona Timmins

   Pages 55-66

6. Health Outcomes of Religious and Spiritual Belief, Behavior, and Belonging: Implications for Healthcare Professionals

   • Elizabeth Johnston Taylor

   Pages 67-82

7. Spirituality and Childbirth

   • Colm OBoyle, Vivienne Brady

   Pages 83-96

8. Providing Spiritual Care: An Exploration of Required Spiritual Care Competencies in Healthcare and Their Impact on Healthcare Provision

   • René van Leeuwen

   Pages 97-116

9. The Role of the Nurse in Providing Spiritual Care: A Case Study Approach to Exploring Specific Care Provision by Healthcare Workers in the Context of an Interdisciplinary Healthcare Team

   • Sílvia Caldeira, Joana Romeiro, Helga Martins

   Pages 117-142

10. Loss and Grief in People with Intellectual Disability

    • Joy Powell

    Pages 143-150

11. The Role of the Healthcare Chaplain: A Summary of the Contribution of Healthcare Chaplains to Modern Healthcare Practice

    • Chris Swift

    Pages 151-164

12. Teaching and Learning About Spirituality in Healthcare Practice Settings

    • Jacqueline Whelan

    Pages 165-192

13. Working with Diversity: An Overview of Diversity in Contemporary Society and the Effect of This on Healthcare Situations

    • Gayatri Nambiar-Greenwood

    Pages 193-209

14. Being Human: Cultivating Mindfulness and Compassion for Daily Living

    • Kathleen Neenan

    Pages 211-223

This book provides a condensed but comprehensive up-to-date overview of spirituality and its application to health care. The need for healthcare workers to provide spiritual care or meet patients’ spiritual needs is gaining increasing importance in nursing and midwifery policy at local, national and international level. Internationally, there is a growing belief in spirituality as a valid dimension of care.

The book highlights a range of examples and case studies facilitating the practical application of the recommendations discussed. In addition to presenting new psychological perspectives, various activities throughout will encourage readers to form their own opinion on the issues covered. The suggestions for further reading and useful websites will also help readers interested in exploring specific areas in more depth.

Combining contributions by authors from various disciplines, the book offers a valuable tool for qualified professional healthcare workers in practice,including nurses, social workers, doctors and chaplains. With its handy format, this practical pocket guide offers a faithful companion for practitioners.

• Spiritual Care
• Nursing Practice
• Holistic healthcare
• Chaplaincy
• Spiritual Assessment
• Spiritual needs
• Care planning
• religion and health

• School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

  Fiona Timmins

• Institute of Health Sciences, Catholic University of Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal

  Sílvia Caldeira

Fiona Timmins is an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin. She has more than 140 publications in peer-reviewed journals and she has published 10 nursing/healthcare textbooks. She has presented widely internationally including many Key Note presentations and workshops. She is currently  Editor in Chief of the Journal of Nursing Management, acts as a reviewer for several peer reviewed journals, sitting on the editorial board of three of these. Her research interests include professional nursing issues, nurse education, spirituality and reflection.

Sílvia Caldeira is an Invited Assistant Professor at the Institute of Health Sciences, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon. Her work focuses on spirituality in health, particularly in nursing care. She completed a master in Bioethics about the ethical imperative of the inclusion of spirituality in nursing care, and a PhD about the validation of nursing diagnosis spiritual distress from NANDA International, Inc. She has already published a book in Portuguese about spirituality in Nursing and several papers in peer reviewed international journals. She acts as reviewer for several peer reviewed journals and is member of many international groups an associations concerning spirituality in healthcare. 

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