I interviewed TJ, a 59-year old male of Hispanic descent and a staunch believer of the Buddhist religion. The following is the transcript of the interview and the responses from my respondent and a patient a facility where I had been working at some point.
Do you think that spirituality has a significant or any influence on physical health?
TJ: Over the years, I have been raised in a family where spirituality was regarded in high value. I have never known any other way to achieve wellness and peace if spirituality is not included. For me, the association with a higher being is important especially for the mind because in any case, the mind, body and soul are a single entity that defines a human. Illness emanates from the mind and once the mind is controlled, illness can be managed or prevented.
Does that mean that you are only more likely to seek medication and treatment when an illness persists?
TJ: No. Not at all, I value health facilities and professionals in the same accord that I value the role of the spirituality in healing. I believe that wellness and health are not defined by the absence of pain and suffering. Rather, it is the holistic perspective and views that disease or illness is more a reflection of lacking or disturbed harmony within us. This harmony should be sought at the time it manifests and that includes seeking spiritual wellness as well as physical wellness concurrently.
Do you believe suffering and illness are associated with sins and doing wrong in your past life?
TJ: There is a wrong notion that Buddhism links bad health to karma. This is actually not the right way to look at it and I normally avoid this perspective. The prior statement of Buddhism in regard to health is that pain, suffering, illness and death are inevitable. As such, if we are confronted by these, we have to respond and if we cannot adequately do so to eliminate them, we have to seek a plan for endurance. I therefore hold that sins should not hold us back from seeking spiritual wellness since when we talk about karma we are saying that one will not achieve internal peace until they confess and seek forgiveness for their wrong doing.
Do you think that healthcare providers have a role to play in helping patients seek spiritual wellness?
TJ: Healthcare workers are in my view agents who do not deliver health rather they help us seek the best interventions towards achieving health and wellness. Therefore, as agents, they have to dig deep and develop a spiritual connection with the patient so as to recognize the spiritual needs of the patient that need to be satisfied alongside the physical needs.
Do you think that religion should prohibit some forms of treatment and therapies afforded in modern day care settings?
Religion should not have such influence on medical practices. There should be a clear cut line between the role of religion and the role of pharmacological methods. These two should complement each other rather than segregate.
Thank you very much for your time TJ. I have a lot to take from the conversation we have had.
TJ: You are always welcome!
One of the major challenges that have eclipsed the healthcare sector in the era of patient-centered care and holistic caring is the determination of the role of spirituality. However, there exists significant evidence to indicate that spirituality is a key aspect of health and wellness and in that case, underlining the influence that this factor holds on patient satisfaction levels, quality of care and the overall quality of life for the patient (Puchalski et al., 2009). In the case of TJ, I believe that the ability of the patient to open up on the details of his belief and their association with health and wellness was valuable. TJ did not express any form of reservations in airing his views and did not feel in any way that he is being subjected to a discriminatory process that may seek to undermine his religion.
TJ, being an educated patient and having lived in the US and in India was easy to handle due to the environment and people that his career as a banker has exposed him. I think, with a patient with less education and less exposure to other cultures as it is with TJ, it would have been difficult to derive as much information as it happened with TJ. Apparently, this is based on the belief that each question presented to such a patient may be translated in a conservative manner and that would technically lead the patient to a conclusion that the interviewer is in some way looking down on his religion or belief. In such a situation, it would be important to inform the patient that the interview/assessment seeks to provide the nurse with a perfect platform that can help determine the appropriate interventions to adopt and those that fall within the beliefs and values that the patient holds (Puchalski et al., 2009).
This assessment tool, more than anything gives the patient a platform where they can be allowed to view the important role that both their spirituality and the pharmacological interventions play in their health and wellness. The tool provides the care team and the nurse a chance to explore the best approaches to managing the patient by developing a spiritual understanding and connection through which the holistic needs of the patient can be determined and managed in a tailored approach. TJ has been a patient at the facility for more than 4 years and he is usually lively and attentive despite having been diagnosed with diabetes at the time he first presented. His condition has not been indicating any significant progress and last year, he was diagnosed with hypertension. Since then, TJ has always made references to his spiritual belief indicating his willingness to seek spiritual wellness amidst these adversities. I believe, this emotional approach to his spirituality and health has been elicited by the increased frailties of his health but all the same, he has shown significant positivity which emanates from the fact that the care team at the facility has enabled him strengthen his spiritual attitude towards health and wellness.
References
Puchalski, C., Ferrell, B., Virani, R., Otis-Green, S., Baird, P., Bull, J., & Pugliese, K. (2009). Improving the quality of spiritual care as a dimension of palliative care: the report of the Consensus Conference. Journal of palliative medicine, 12(10), 885-904.
