title: Attending to the spiritual in dementia care nursing.
abstract: Spirituality is a complex and subjective concept. However, spiritual wellness is an important component in a person's overall well-being and the spiritual support of patients is central to nursing care. People with dementia may not be well-supported in this aspect of care; this may lead to spiritual distress. Spiritual needs may be identified by taking the person's spiritual history or, in the case of advanced dementia, by asking a person's significant others about the important spiritual aspects of the person's life. Spiritual care for people with dementia involves reflective practice and meaningful engagement with the person with dementia, so as to facilitate shared understanding. Furthermore, the support of the spiritual and religious beliefs of the person need to be facilitated within an individualised or person centred approach to care and delivered within a multi-disciplinary collaborative context.
authors: Assistant Professor at School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin.
authors: Louise
authors: L
authors: Daly
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Fahey-McCarthy
mesh_terms: D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D012067:Religion; D029181:Spirituality
keywords: Assessment; Dementia; Nursing care; Spirituality