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• Spiritual care in Slovenian nursing homes: a quantitative descriptive study

  29-30

  Igor Karnjuš

  Denis Bogdan

  Mirko Prosen

  Sabina Ličen

  Views:

  102

  Introduction:
  Spiritual care is an important component of holistic care in nursing. However, health care workers are not unanimous in who is responsible for the spiritual care of patients. It is likely that nurses are best suited to provide spiritual care because of the nature of their work, which requires constant contact with patients. Yet, meeting spiritual needs is not well defined in the role of nurses and is not always taught comprehensively in formal nursing education programmes. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which nurses working in social care settings implement interventions related to spiritual care in their daily practise, how they perceive their knowledge of spiritual care, and the extent to which this dimension of care was included in their nursing education programmes.
  Methods:
  A non-experimental quantitative descriptive research study was used. In April 2020, 214 nurse assistants and registered nurses from 12 nursing homes in Slovenia participated in the study. The questionnaire used in the study included 12 statements related to 3 main areas: i) knowledge of the concepts of spirituality and religion, ii) implementation of spiritual/religious interventions in daily practice, iii) spirituality in nursing education. The individual statements were rated by the respondents on a 5-point Likert scale (1 - strongly disagree to 5 - strongly agree). The questionnaire had adequate internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = 0.857). Data were described using calculated means, Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation coefficient. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.
  Results:
  Regular spiritual assessment of nursing home residents is rarely performed by nurses (x̄=2.73, s=1.03). Female nurses (U=2191.500, p=0.008) and nurses who described themselves as religious (U=3314.000, p=0.001) implement spiritual/religious interventions in daily practice to a greater extent; they also expressed higher knowledge of the concepts of spirituality and religion compared to the others (religious/non-religious: U=2920.000, p=0.000; female/male: U=1885.000, p=0.000). The implementation of spiritual/religious interventions in daily practice correlated positively and statistically significantly mainly with self-perceived knowledge of the concepts of spirituality and religion (r=0.495, p=0.000) and the extent to which the content of spiritual care was represented in their nursing education program (r=0.494, p=0.000). However, nurses emphasized that the concept of spirituality and spiritual care tended to be poorly represented in formal nursing education programs (x̄=2.76, s=0.89).
  Discussion and conclusions:
  Individual characteristics, particularly self-reported religiosity and gender, appear to have an important influence on the implementation of spiritual/religious interventions in daily practise. In addition, our study suggests that the level of knowledge about the concepts of spirituality and religion influences nurses' willingness to implement spiritual care with their residents. Therefore, nursing educators need to develop curricula that include strategies to increase trainees' awareness of spiritual care. Current international research efforts on perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing offer important contributions to understanding the role of nursing in relation to spirituality and to developing educational content and approaches for both undergraduate and lifelong learning in nursing.

• Palliative and Hospice Social Work Roles in the U.S.

  18

  Ellen L. Csikai

  Views:

  86

  Palliative care services worldwide continue to grow, primarily in response to a human rights approach and to respond to the aging of the population, increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses and cancer mortality. While there is recognition in the WHO definition of palliative care that not only physical, but also psychological, social and spiritual aspects of care must be part of services provided, how these are addressed varies greatly by country and region of the world.
  In the U.S., social work services are mandated to be provided by hospice organizations seeking funding from Medicare (governmental insurance for people over age 65) and supports the tenets of the palliative care philosophy to provide person-centered holistic care. The role of palliative and hospice social workers is highly aligned with the values of the profession centered on the dignity and worth of all humans and the commitment to improving quality of life throughout life and especially at the end of life. Older adults make up the overwhelming majority of hospice recipients in the U.S. and attention to their daily needs and those of the family caregivers is essential to maximize quality of life.
  This presentation will focus on the roles of social workers in the U.S., particularly with older adults, in various palliative care settings and how this may compare to roles across the globe.

• Action for smart healthy age-friendly environments

  47-48

  Willeke van Staalduinen

  Views:

  77

  Smart, adaptable and inclusive solutions can help improve and support independent life throughout the course of life, regardless of age, gender, disabilities, cultural differences and personal choices.
  A holistic approach that optimizes social and physical environments, supported by digital tools and services, allows to provide better health and social care, promoting not only independent living, but also equity and active participation in society. This approach follows the United Nations' line-up, with the Sustainable Development Goals (in particular Objectives 3 and 11), stating that sustainable environments for all ages represent the basis for ensuring a better future for the entire population.
  The challenges of different sectors, such as ICT, the building industry and urban planning and the health and social care, as well as those of citizens and their communities are interlinked. Responding to these challenges will foster awareness and support for the creation and implementation of smart, healthy and inclusive environments for present and future generations.
  From this insight, a new concept was developed and well received: Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE). The by the EC approved Thematic Network of 2018 evolved into a Stakeholders Network of about 170 organisations and it is represented in several European projects and networks. COST Action NET4Age-Friendly brings together over 320 researchers from 46 countries. Capacity building to support the implementation of SHAFE is present in Erasmus+ projects.

  The presentation will give an overview of relevant development and insights to support the building of smart, inclusive societies.

• Physical Restraint Use within Maltese Long-Term Care Settings

  9-10

  Maria Aurora Fenech

  Views:

  41

  The holistic study looked at the locally unexplored environment, providing a platform of knowledge base and information on physical restraint use. The project secured relevant information focal to the older person residents, health care providers and policy makers within long-term care settings.