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Faculty of Health Sciences

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Subject: search.filters.subject.Spirituality

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    Spiritual wellness as a tool against the effects of a pandemic : experiences of some Australian families in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic
    (Otjivanda Presse.Essen, 2023-10-18) Dorasamy, Jirushlan; Bhagwan, Raisuyah
    Based on the mixed feelings as to whether spirituality offers wellness during trouble times, this study explored how families used spiritual wellness as a tool against the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to understand the participant’sspiritual wellness in order to find out the impact of the pandemic on their specific aspects of spiritual wellness and then to determine the spiritual pathways they used to manage their challenges during COVID-19, as well as further recommendations made by participants toward enhancing spiritual wellness in the future especially during crisis situations, such as the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The aftermath effect of the pandemic still lingers among many lives today. Therefore, knowing how some used spiritual wellness as a dimension of wellness to overcome the chaos will be a lesson for many to consider. The study followed a qualitative approach (interviews), involving 12 families based in Melbourne, Australia, to examine how the pandemic impacted their spiritual wellness, the pathways of wellness they used as they transitioned through the pandemic, as well as recommendations made by families going forward.. The findings revealed that spiritual wellness was maintained through engaging in virtual spiritual activities, keeping a positive spirit, and being motivation, while practicing yoga and meditation offered optimism, hope, and confidence as well as positive feelings about the future. This attests to the fact that, spirituality can serve as a great source of power that can transcend beyond all situations to generate wellness
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    Spirituality and spiritual care amongst professional nurses at public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal
    (2014-07-24) Chandramohan, Sandhya; Bhagwan, Raisuyah
    Introduction : Empirical research pertaining to spirituality has grown in the Western context, with a myriad studies, that have documented the salience of spirituality to health and wellbeing in relation to a range of issues such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and heart disease (Koenig et al. 2001:1189). It is against this backdrop that nursing scholars have begun to research the role of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing practice, in the Euro-American context. In South Africa research in this field is sparse, hence prompting the need for the current study. Problem statement : There is a huge gap in the South African nursing literature on spirituality and spiritual care, grounding the need for research in this area. Internationally however studies have grown focussing on the views of practitioners and faculty with regard to spirituality and spiritual care in nursing practice. Objectives : To explore the views of nurses at public hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal regarding the role of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing practice. To investigate nursing practitioners’ views on the salience of spirituality to patients. To investigate whether nurses utilize spiritually based activities in nursing. To investigate whether current nursing education and training has prepared nurses for spiritual care. Methodology : The study utilized a descriptive survey utilizing a cross-sectional design. A quantitative research design was utilized to survey nursing practitioners at selected public hospitals through a process of multiphase random sampling. Data was collected using survey questionnaires. Findings : Findings of this study have shown that nurses do accept spirituality and spiritual care as being part of their role. Participants (n=385) acknowledged that spiritual care is a component of holistic patient care. This aspect of care, they agreed, lacks the attention it seriously needs. In addition, majority of nurses considered nursing to be part of their spiritual path. Results indicated that the more spiritual nurses viewed themselves, the more positive their perspectives were towards providing spiritual care.
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    Spirituality in social work in South Africa : insights from a survey with academics
    (Sage Publications, 2013-05) Bhagwan, Raisuyah
    Historically, spirituality has shared a tenuous position with social work. Scholarship underpinning its relevance to client well-being and anti-oppressive practice has proliferated, entrenching its niche in education. In South Africa, very little empirical work exists except for a survey with final year social work students. This article presents findings made with a national survey of academics: 66 educators from 16 universities participated indicating positive views on spirituality in education and practice in South Africa.