Spiritual Support in Disasters
Spiritual Support in Disasters
(Spiritual Support in Disasters)
How can a community health nurse assist in the spiritual care of the individual, community, self, and colleagues?
A disaster is a sudden calamity that occurs in an environment and causes huge destruction and loss (Falkner, 2018). The cause of a disaster can be natural or man-made. Either way, the impact of disasters can last a lifetime, and this includes the spiritual, physical, and mental health aspects of victims and their families. Public health nurses must learn to assess and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the coping mechanisms of victims experiencing or suffering from the impact of a disaster. During assessment, it is important to acknowledge the need for spiritual support, notify the family and victim that arrangements can always be made for a chaplain to visit, comfort, and pray with the victims as required and requested (Falkner, 2018). Cultural diversities need to be acknowledged too because people express their pain and grieve differently. Nurses should take time to be there to listen to victims because sometimes they just need a listening ear and someone by them, since they might not have the opportunity to have a support system.When a disaster occurs, lives are lost, businesses and infrastructure are lost, putting individuals in a long-lasting grieving process, some people lose their homes and jobs, making them jobless, and poverty makes them become homeless. This affects the individual’s ability to care for themselves and talk less about their family responsibilities. These are devastating attributes that make victims vulnerable to mental impairments and affect the wellbeing of individuals. In such times, nurses must spiritually support each other and the public by providing and advocating for spiritual care. Evidence has shown that spiritual care may serve as a coping resource, enhance pain management, reduce the risk of depression, and reduce the risk of substance abuse and suicide (Elk, Hall, DeGregory, Graham, Hughes, 2017).It is very important for nurses to be versed in spiritual care to provide quality care in case of disasters. The spiritual care can be provided by screening the victim’s religious to identify spiritual preferences, supporting and respecting the victim’s religion, providing individualized patient care, and referring patients to chaplains and churches around the community, which is a good resource for victims in need of emotional and mental disabilities from a disaster (Elk et al., 2017).Respond using 200-300 words in APA format with references to support this discussion.What spiritual considerations surrounding a disaster can arise for individuals, communities, and health care providers? Explain your answer in the context of a natural or manmade disaster. How can a community health nurse assist in the spiritual care of the individual, community, self, and colleagues?
