The SPIRITual history
T. A. Maugans
Department of Family Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA.
Spirituality can be defined as a belief system focusing on intangible
elements that impart vitality and meaning to life's events. Often
spirituality is expressed through formalized religions. Recently, the
interplay of spirituality, religion, and health care has been explored in
the medical literature. Spiritual belief systems impact on the incidences,
experiences, and outcomes of several common medical problems.
Unfortunately, there is little recent literature addressing the process of
conducting a medically oriented spiritual history. One approach to
assisting the physician in spiritual history taking, a mnemonic, SPIRIT, is
presented as a guide to identifying important components of the spiritual
history. This article addresses the issues of when and whom to interview,
as well as specific professional and ethical issues related to this topic.
Two case examples from my practice are presented to illustrate the utility
of the SPIRITual history.
Spiritual issues in the care of dying patients: ". . . it's okay between me and god".
Sulmasy
JAMA 2006;296:1385-1392.
ABSTRACT
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Prayer for Health Concerns: Results of a National Survey on Prevalence and Patterns of Use
McCaffrey et al.
Arch Intern Med 2004;164:858-862.
ABSTRACT
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Hospice patients' attitudes regarding spiritual discussions with their doctors
Hart et al.
AM J HOSP PALLIAT CARE 2003;20:135-139.
ABSTRACT
Integrating Religious Practices in Home Health Care: A Case Study of Collaboration between the Health Care System and the Orthodox Jew
Ross and Hvizdash
Home Health Care Management Practice 2002;14:457-460.
ABSTRACT
A Biopsychosocial-Spiritual Model for the Care of Patients at the End of Life
Sulmasy
Gerontologist 2002;42:24-33.
ABSTRACT
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Experiments on Distant Intercessory Prayer: God, Science, and the Lesson of Massah
Chibnall et al.
Arch Intern Med 2001;161:2529-2536.
FULL TEXT
Physicians and Patient Spirituality: Professional Boundaries, Competency, and Ethics
Post et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2000;132:578-583.
ABSTRACT
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Spirituality in Medical Practice
Thomsen
Arch Dermatol 1998;134:1443-1446.
ABSTRACT
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