SPIRITUAL ASSESSMENT

The 'HOPE' Questions for Spiritual Assessment

This acronym can provide a useful tool. CLICK HERE for further details.

H: Sources of hope, meaning, comfort, strength, peace, love and connection
O: Organized religion
P: Personal spirituality and practices
E: Effects on medical care and end-of-life issues

Another Simple Questionnaire for Spiritual Assessment

Spiritual Health: Research has shown a strong connection between spiritual health and physical/mental health. Please answer the following questions to help us evaluate your overall health status.
( ) Do you worry a great deal?
( ) Does life seem empty?
( ) Do you feel at peace?
( ) Do you feel guilty or ashamed?
( ) Do you feel restless much of the time?
( ) Is your life joyful?
What is your religion if any?________________
How often do you attend religious services during the year? (circle one) Never / Major holidays / Monthly / At least weekly
Do you consider yourself: Very religious / Fairly religious / Only slightly religious / Not at all religious/ Against religion
How much is religion (and/or God) a source of strength and comfort to you? Not very much / Somewhat / Quite a bit / A great deal

Integrating Spiritual Assessment into Patient Care

This questionnaire integrates physical,
emotional, and spiritual components.
It is ideal for use in the outpatient setting
at the time of an annual exam. Feel free
to adapt it for your own use.

The practice of doing a routine spiritual assessment has become part of the standard of care in hospitals and nursing homes. The Joint Commission (JCAHO) now mandates spiritual assessment and spiritual care (CLICK HERE for details). Spiritual assessment has been a key component of hospice care. CLICK HERE for one example of an assessement tool used in end-of-life care.

The Crucifixion. Giotto; 1304-1306; Fresco.
Capella degli Scrovegni, Padua, Italy.

Catholic Spiritual Assessment

Most of the literature regarding spiritual assessment is written from a secular or "generic" spiritual perspective, not a Christ-centered, Catholic perspective.
What would a Catholic spiritual assessment look like?
Do we, as Catholic physicians, have a responsibility to go beyond secular or "generic" approaches to spiritual assessment?
Do we have a responsibility to determine not just the health of the body, but the health of the soul of our patients?
Do we have a responsibility, working with the clergy and the Church, to promote spiritual health?
Do we have a responsibility to use spiritual assessment as a tool to help in the evangelization of our patients?

WHAT'S NEXT?
Going beyond spiritual assessment to evangelization...
CLICK HERE.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. (John 3:16)