A plan for spiritual health services in Iranian hospitals

In recent years, spiritual health has been considered by health professionals as an important dimension in individual and group life, and as defined by the World Health Organization, spiritual care is a major component of palliative care. However, it is often neglected in clinical practice, and hospitals need to move toward promoting spiritual care. The aim of this study was to design a model for providing spiritual health services in Iranian hospitals.
Methods and Materials: The present study was conducted in two parts of the review study and qualitative study. In the review section, articles related to the topic were selected and studied using appropriate keywords from valid sites. In a qualitative study, scientific and executive experts were selected using purposeful sampling approach. The data were collected during focused group discussions and individual in-depth interviews and were analyzed using content analysis method and thematic analysis.
The spiritual health services of hospitals include the assessment of the mental status and referral by the physician, the spiritual care of the nurse, the spiritual counseling by the spiritual counselor and the provision of spiritual conditions by the hospital manager. A set of skills for spiritual care and counseling by nurses include communication, supportive, knowledge, attitude and executive skills of spiritual care and referral to religious specialists.
According to the proposed model and the necessity of its implementation in hospitals of the country, it is suggested to set the required skills for spiritual evaluation of patients and relevant interventions in the form of skills training packages and capabilities.