Spiritual Assessment Tools - FICA and HOPE: Vital Approach to Healthcare

Spiritual Assessment Tools
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Institution
Abstract
The main aim of carrying out an assessment is to collect data that will be used in planning nursing care. Nurses are supposed to help the patients meet their spiritual needs although most of them feel uncomfortable performing a spiritual assessment. This can be difficult especially in situations where the patient has no idea of their religious preferences. In other cases, the nurses are unaware of some spiritual beliefs. To solve this dilemma, spiritual assessment tools have been introduced to make the process simpler and more manageable. Nowadays, acronyms are being used during spiritual assessments to help the patient remember important concepts.
Keywords: spiritual assessment, spiritual assessment tools, acronyms.
Spiritual Assessment Tools
Introduction
Religion is the beliefs and practices based on a supernatural being. People around the world have different religious beliefs. Religious people are thought to be spiritual. However, some spiritual people are not religious. Nurses care for patients based on their beliefs and affiliations. As a result, Spiritual assessment is carried out by nurses to plan the type of treatment a patient will be given. In cases where the nurse does not understand the spiritual beliefs of the patient, certain tools can be used in the assessment. These spiritual assessment tools use acronyms to promote further understanding of the beliefs of the patient. Spiritual assessment tools also help the patients reflect on their life. Examples of spiritual tools include FICA and Hope. The essay gives an analysis of two examples of spiritual assessment tools.
FICA Assessment Tool
This is an acronym that can be used to remember some of the questions asked in spiritual assessments. FICA in full stands for Faith or Beliefs, Importance, and influence, Community and Address (Paal, Helo& Frick, 2015). An example of questions that one can use in the assessment while using this tool include:
• F: What is your faith? Do you think you are a religious person? If so, what things add meaning to your life?
• I: Is faith essential to your life? Does faith influence you to do some things in your life? Have your beliefs changed your perception of the illness during this period?
• C: Are you a member of any spiritual group in our community? If so, how does it support you? Is there someone in the group who is important to you?
• A: Is there any specific way you would like me to address your illness as your health care provider?
The FICA assessment tool is used as a conversation guide in most hospital settings. The clinician aims at knowing the faith and beliefs of the patient (Williams et al. 2016). This helps in understanding the patient more. Asking the importance of spirituality in the life of the patient serves as a way of knowing whether the patient is a religious person. However, some people are religious and are not spiritual, and vice versa (LaRocca-Pitts, 2015). Being part of a community like a church or a school helps promote a sense of belonging. These communities can serve to be a source of strength and support for the patient. A patient should have something to say about their mode of tre...