1. I S S U E S A N D IN N O V A T I O N S I N N U R S I N G P R A C T I C E
Spirituality and family nursing: spiritual assessment and interventions
for families
Ruth A. Tanyi MSN RN FNP-C APRN-BC
Doctoral Student in Public Health: Preventive Care, Loma Linda, California, USA
Accepted for publication 5 April 2005
Correspondence: TANYI R.A. (2006) Journal of Advanced Nursing 53(3), 287–294
Ruth A. Tanyi, Spirituality and family nursing: spiritual assessment and interventions for families
Family Nurse Practitioner, Aim. The aim of this paper is to propose a guideline for spiritual assessment and
Prevention, Lifestyle and
interventions explicitly for families, while considering each family member’s unique
Wellness Services,
spirituality.
PO Box 1185,
Loma Linda, Background. Spirituality’s positive effect is pervasive in health care and in the lives
CA 92354, of many families; therefore, there is a need to integrate spiritual assessment and
USA. interventions in total family care.
E-mail: rtanyi@yahoo.com Discussion. The majority of published guidelines on spiritual assessment and
interventions are designed predominantly for individuals. They fail to differentiate
between individual and family spirituality or offer only brief discussions on family
spirituality. Such guidelines are potentially problematic. They may lead nurses to
focus only on individual spirituality and neglect to discern family unit spirituality or
recognize the presence of conflicts in spiritual perspectives within the family. While
other disciplines such as social work and family therapy have several guidelines/
strategies to assess family spirituality, there is a dearth of such guidelines in the
family health nursing and spirituality literature, in spite of the rhetoric about
incorporating spirituality as part of total family assessment. As a beginning solution,
guidelines are proposed for spiritual assessment and interventions for the family as a
unit, and the category of spiritual interpretation to represent diagnosis is introduced.
Case studies exemplify how to integrate the guideline, and illustrate elements that
may favour specific interpretations which would guide the interventions.
Conclusion. As nurses continually strive to assist families with their health needs,
they must also attend to their spiritual needs, as one cannot truly assess a family
without assessing its spirituality.
Keywords: family health, nursing, spiritual assessment, spirituality
description is consistent with the multi-dimensional and
Introduction
ambiguous nature of spirituality.
In this paper, family spirituality is described as the search for The family is defined here as two or more individuals who
meaning and purpose in life, meaningful relationships, call themselves a family and are bonded together emotionally.
individual family member spirituality, family values, beliefs, They may or may not be biologically related or share physical
and practices, which may or may not be religiously based, space. Family is further defined as a single unit with intercon-
and the ability to be transcendent (Sperry & Giblin 1996, nected parts (Friedman 1998, Wegner & Alexander 1999).
Tanyi 2002). Family spirituality can be much broader than Given the complex nature of spirituality, the intention in
individual spirituality, as it encompasses individuals’ distinct this paper is not to serve as a conclusive and definitive guide
spirituality and that of the family unit. The broadness of this to spiritual assessment and interventions for families. Rather,
Ó 2006 The Author. Journal compilation Ó 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 287

2. R.A. Tanyi
a beginning guideline is proposed in order to better equip strategies to assess family spirituality (e.g. Boyd-Franklin &
nurses to provide and improve spiritual care. In accordance Lockwood 1999, Frame 2000, Hodge 2000), there is a
with this era of modern nursing and increased discourse on dearth of such guidelines in the family nursing and
spirituality, this paper introduces the category of spiritual spirituality literature, in spite of the rhetoric to incorporate
interpretation to represent diagnosis. Finally, the paper spirituality as part of total family assessment.
contributes to the literature on family health nursing and The majority of published guidelines in the nursing
spirituality. literature (e.g. Stoll 1979, Murray & Zentner 1989, Labun
1997) are predominately geared for assessing individual
clients rather than families. They fail to distinguish
Background
between individual and family unit spirituality, or offer
Despite the lack of consensual definition of spirituality only brief discussions on family spirituality. Guidelines to
(MacLaren 2004), its positive effect pervades health care assist the family health nurse with the spiritual dimension
and is evident in the nursing literature. Therefore, providing of care are timely and necessary in order to meet families’
spiritual care will remain an invaluable part of nursing, as holistic needs.
nurses work with humans who are spiritual beings. Spiritu- It could be argued that family health nurses may still
ality and religion are sometimes used interchangeably, but the employ the same guidelines as nurses working with individual
two concepts are different, thus warranting a distinction. clients. To an extent this approach is appropriate, but may
Religion involves an organized entity with established rules, pave the way for potential problems, as nurses may focus on
practices, beliefs, values, and boundaries about a Higher only the individual’s spirituality, neglecting to discern the
Power or God to which individuals should adhere (Thoresen family’s spirituality as a unit. Guidelines exclusively for the
1999). On the contrary, spirituality has been described as a family would better equip nurses to consciously approach the
personal journey and defined as: spiritual dimension from both the individual and family
perspectives. It would alleviate the frustration of sorting
the personal search for meaning and purpose in life, which may or
through volumes of literature not specifically germane to
may not be related to religion. It entails connection to self-chosen
assessing family spirituality. It would help nurses recognize
and/or religious beliefs, values, and practices that give meaning to
conflicts between individual and family spirituality, and the
life, thereby inspiring and motivating individuals to achieve their
impact on the individual’s health and family unit. Lastly, it
optimal being. This connection brings faith, hope, peace, and
would assist nurses to better organize spiritual data.
empowerment. The results are joy, forgiveness of oneself and others,
awareness and acceptance of hardship and mortality, a heightened
sense of physical and emotional well-being, and the ability to Spirituality: a powerful family resource
transcend beyond the infirmities of existence (Tanyi 2002, p. 506).
A few published studies have examined spirituality as a
From the above definition, family spirituality may or may not family phenomenon. Electronic database searches of CI-
be religiously based. While some families’ spiritual orienta- NAHL, Psyc-INFO, MEDLINE/PubMed, and ProQuest, in
tion may involve religion, others may view spirituality as addition to manual searches of family journals such as
related to the universe, environment, or significant relation- Marital and Family Therapy, Family Relations, Marriage
ships. Families with an atheist or agnostic orientation may and Family Counselling, and Family Process over the last
also be spiritual. Whatever the spiritual orientation, families’ three decades yielded few studies in this area. The scant
values, practices, beliefs are all part of their distinct spiritu- published studies reviewed for this paper were conducted in
ality, which may influence their functioning and help them various countries; however, two from the United Kingdom
manage crises (Walsh 1998). (UK), three from Canada, and the remainder from the
The need to address family spirituality has been espoused United States of America (USA) were pertinent to the
by family health nursing writers (e.g. Friedman 1998, paper’s focus. The ensuing section summarizes the studies
Wright & Leahey 2000). It is also clearly evident in the that underscore the powerful effects of spirituality as an
literature of various health professions, such as medicine invaluable resource.
(Maugans 1996, Walsh et al. 2002), clinical psychology Spirituality can be expressed vertically via a relationship
(Frame 2000, Wolf & Stevens 2001), social work (Hodge with God/Higher Power and/or horizontally via significant
2000, 2001), and family therapy (Anderson & Worthen relationships with others or self (Stoll 1989). The families in
1997, Rivett & Street 2001). While other disciplines such the following studies expressed their spirituality both vertic-
as social work and family therapy have several guidelines/ ally, as they reported a relationship with God/Higher Power,
288 Ó 2006 The Author. Journal compilation Ó 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

3. Issues and innovations in nursing practice Spirituality and family nursing
and horizontally, because of significant relationships with Table 1 Guideline to spiritual assessment for families
family members and others. Meaning and purpose
Spirituality is an important factor in facilitating healthy Who or what does the family consider the most meaningful?
marital and family functioning (Giblin 1996). Research What gives the family meaning in their daily routines?
shows that spouses’ spiritual views and beliefs can decrease What gives the family peace, joy, and satisfaction?
psychological stress and increase their sense of coherence Strengths
What gives the family strength?
(Mullen et al. 1993). A family’s spirituality can assist in
What helps the family to deal with crises?
maintaining normalcy, cohesion, and resilience in the midst What does the family do in order to rebuild their strength?
of crises (Beavers & Hampson 1990, Leis et al. 1997, Boyd- Relationships
Franklin & Lockwood 1999). It can expedite positive What do family members like about their family?
adjustment to the loss of a family member (Richards & Does the family have a relationship with God/Higher Power,
universe, or other? If yes, how do they describe it?
Folkman 1997, Handsley 2001, Walsh et al. 2002), ameli-
Is the family involved in community-based spiritual activities?
orate difficulties associated with disabilities (Treloar 2002), If yes, which ones?
help foster a deeper meaning and purpose in positive family Beliefs
events such as childbirth (Callister et al. 1999, Semenic et al. What are the family’s beliefs? And what do these beliefs
2004), and contributes to satisfying, lasting marriages (Ka- mean to their health?
slow & Robison 1996). Does the family practise rituals such as prayer, worship,
or meditation?
Other findings show that families with strong spiritual
Individual family member spirituality
orientations can effectively attenuate family caregivers’ bur- How do family members express/describe their spirituality?
dens (Pierce 2001, Theis et al. 2003). In single-parent And what does this mean to their health?
families, spiritual rituals such as prayers have been shown Are there conflicts between family members because of their
to provide solace and unity (Moriarty & Wagner 2004). spiritual views?
If yes, what is the impact, if any, on the individual and family’s
Kloosterhouse and Ames’ (2002) study further highlights that
health?
families’ spiritual beliefs and practices can strengthen them Family’s preference for spiritual care
and provide hope, meaning and purpose in their lives when How does the family describe/express their spiritual views?
dealing with stressors. Can the family give examples of how nurses can integrate
their spiritual views when working with them?
Does the family consider anyone their spiritual leader?
Spiritual assessment And if necessary, can the spiritual leader be contacted
to assist with providing care to the family?
The major goals of spiritual assessment are (1) to support and
enhance families’ spiritual well-being and development; (2) to Sources: Fitchett (1993), Maugans (1996), Hodge (2000), McEvoy
(2000), Wilkinson (2000), Tanyi (2002).
discern spiritual distress and its effect on overall family
These questions serve only as a guide to help nurses elicit spiritual
health; and (3) to ascertain ways to incorporate family
information for each category. Nurses can, therefore, rephrase these
spirituality when providing care. To capture the essential questions according to the family’s understanding and expressions of
elements of spirituality and organize the assessment, nurses their spirituality.
can utilize the guideline in Table 1 to categorize the data
according to: meaning and purpose, strengths, relationships,
beliefs, individual member’s spirituality, and family’s prefer- remain open to families’ spiritual beliefs and perspectives,
ence for spiritual care. never imposing their personal beliefs or values on families.
The initial step of a thorough spiritual assessment and They also must explain the purpose of the assessment, how
intervention requires that nurses be comfortable with the the information is used, and obtain families’ consent before
topic and develop a trusting relationship with the family consulting with spiritual leaders (Richards & Bergin 1997).
(Maugans 1996). One cannot precisely gauge when a nurse Before beginning the assessment, nurses must first attain
should establish a trusting relationship with a family as this family consent. Thereafter, the significance of spirituality in
depends on their interactions over a period of time. However, the family’s lives must be ascertained (Table 1). Answers to
nurses’ actions, such as displaying genuine caring and the example questions in Table 1 would provide insight about
concern, respecting families’ circumstances, and remaining the family’s beliefs and strengths, and the influences of
non-judgemental can foster a healthy environment and spirituality on their health. It would reveal the role of
expedite the development of a trusting relationship. In order spirituality in family’s abilities to seek meaning and purpose
to maintain the ethical aspects of spiritual care, nurses must in their lives, and shed light on the family’s sense of
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4. R.A. Tanyi
connectedness/disconnectedness, alerting nurses to potential Table 2 Guideline to spiritual interventions for families
sources of spiritual distress. Spiritual support
Although nurses should approach the family as a single Be present and available to the family in a non-hurried manner
unit, it is advantageous to collect data on each family Respect the family’s spiritual orientation and
member, as these data may reveal conflicts in spiritual views support their practices
among family members, and the impact, if any, on the family Encourage and support comments that reflect the family’s need
for spiritual growth
unit and individuals’ health. Family responses on how to
Spiritual well-being
incorporate spirituality in their care would also add under- Support and encourage the family’s use of spiritual resources
standing to their unique spiritual needs. as desired
Additionally, genograms and ecomaps are visual dia- Assist the family in locating spiritual groups and resources in
grammatic tools that can be used to assess family spiritu- their community
Support, acknowledge, and applaud verbalized comments of
ality. A genogram is a three-generation family tree, which
peace, harmony, and satisfaction with family circumstances
depicts a family’s history (Bowen 1980). Likewise, the and relationships
spiritual genogram can be used to depict a three-generation Encourage continual spiritual growth
picture of the family’s spiritual journey. Any event the Spiritual distress
family describes as spiritual should be outlined in the Attempt to determine the reason(s) for the distress, and support the
genogram. The process of completing the genogram can family’s efforts to examine their beliefs and values
Acknowledge the family’s position, but if necessary, obtain their
serve as a reflective tool for family members to evaluate
consent to consult with a spiritual leader of their preference
their spirituality, as they understand and perceive it. It can Provide research-based evidence to the family about the
also help to clarify questions about the family’s spirituality positive impacts of spirituality on family health and functioning
and to affirm their strengths (Massey & Adriana 1999, Continue to display empathy, acceptance, kindness in a
Hodge 2000, 2001). Ecomaps portray a family’s relation- non-judgemental manner
ship with external systems such as health care or govern- Sources: Maugans (1996), Wilkinson (2000), Tanyi (2002).
ment, and the impact of these systems on the family. Due to the multi-dimensional and ambiguous nature of spirituality,
Information from the ecomap would help nurses to the assessment and interventions may overlap into other categories.
organize the family spiritual history and address legitimate Nurses must, therefore, bear in mind each family’s unique situation.
spiritual issues (Frame 2000).
Spiritual needs may be difficult to discern; hence, nurses
should observe family members’ non-verbal behaviours The desired outcome for spiritual assessment and inter-
during the assessment. The home environment, including vention is spiritual well-being. In this state, family members
books or artwork, may also provide clues to family spiritu- express satisfaction with their relationships, beliefs, circum-
ality (Ross 1994). stances, and display a strong sense of connectedness with
Because spiritual distress may impede a family’s ability to each other, their God/Higher Power, universe, environment,
manage conflicts and have a devastating effect on their and others (Wilkinson 2000). Evaluation criteria are verbal-
wellbeing, nurses must be astute in discerning it and ized comments from family members indicating (1) continu-
intervening quickly and appropriately (Table 2). Spiritual ing spiritual growth; (2) feelings of connectedness and peace;
distress should be suspected if the family expresses a sense of (3) satisfaction with family circumstances, and improved
hopelessness, abandonment, inner conflicts about their sense of overall health and well-being.
beliefs, and questions the meaning of their existence (Wil-
kinson 2000).
Case examples
The ensuing fictitious case studies exemplify certain potential
Spiritual interventions
components within a family unit to favour an interpretation
The process of spiritual assessment is an effective intervention. of spiritual support, wellbeing, or distress. While there are
It allows the family to openly discuss their spiritual strengths many other potential spiritual interpretations, these cases
and legitimizes their abilities to manage life’s challenges only underscore the major ones. As families’ circumstances
(Hodge 2000). Nurses can, therefore, encourage families to change over time, spiritual interpretations are not permanent;
draw upon this strength to manage other problems. Following they change to reflect a family’s state at any given time. The
the assessment, nurses would formulate an appropriate inter- cases further illustrate how to integrate spiritual assessment,
pretation to guide the interventions in Table 2. interpret data and implement appropriate interventions.
290 Ó 2006 The Author. Journal compilation Ó 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

5. Issues and innovations in nursing practice Spirituality and family nursing
Since Amy’s diagnosis of hepatitis C, the father has become
The Ntuba family
withdrawn and openly verbalizes his anger towards God. He
The Ntuba family consists of husband Henry, aged 50, wife feels he is being punished and asks why God would allow
Maggie aged 48, and Henry’s brother Evan, aged 37. Evan such a thing to happen to their child and family. He no longer
has acute kidney failure. He undergoes haemodialysis 3 days attends church or bible studies and communicates less with
per week and has recently tested positive for tuberculosis his family. His behaviours have a negative impact on the
(TB). He does not have active TB, but takes TB prophylaxis family’s health, creating tension in the household and
treatments. After completing this treatment, he will receive a destabilizing the family unit. The family prefers nurses to
new kidney. support their spirituality by displaying kindness, genuine
The nurse discerns that this family’s spiritual orientation is caring and respect. With the exception of the father, family
religion based, Catholic, thus vertically connected to God. members share similarities in their spiritual views (Augsber-
They report that God helps them deal with difficulties, such ger 1986).
as Evan’s health. They engage in weekly family prayer and In this case, nurses would document the appropriate
attend church regularly. They believe God is in charge of their interpretation of spiritual distress depicted by the father’s
lives and Evan’s health. This family displays a strong vertical disconnectedness with God and horizontal discon-
horizontal connection with one another, and they believe nectedness with family members. The initial nursing inter-
their purpose is to stay connected as a family unit. They deny vention would be to acknowledge the family’s situation in a
any sense of anxiety about Evan’s health, exhibiting a deep non-judgemental manner, while gaining their trust. Thereaf-
sense of strength and peace. Each family member’s unique ter, nurses would attempt to reach the father by reminding
expression of spirituality is similar to other members (Augs- him how the family has effectively managed crises in the past
berger 1986), and no conflicts are apparent. They agree that through spiritual practices.
having a nurse who respects their spiritual views and prays If nurses are unable to diffuse the distress or feels ill-
for and with them is very important. equipped to handle the situation, they should ask the family’s
Upon collecting the information, nurses would organize permission to initiate a spiritual referral from a spiritual
and document the data under the Tables’ headings. As an leader of their choice. If the family rejects the nurse’s
example, the Ntuba family’s meaning and purpose is to stay initiation, the topic could be reintroduced at a later time.
connected; they believe in God; their strength comes from Nonetheless, nurses would continue to acknowledge and
God; they have a strong horizontal relationship with each respect the family, while providing continual support, and
other and their church; no spiritual conflicts are present; and implement the other interventions in Table 2.
they prefer nurses to respect their spiritual views, and pray
for and with them.
The Wong family
Nurses would then formulate the appropriate interpret-
ation of continual spiritual well-being. This interpretation is The Wong family consists of Paul, aged 67, who has Diabetes
appropriate for families that express satisfaction with their Mellitus type 2, his wife Mary, aged 64 and their daughter,
spiritual lives (Wilkinson 2000). In this case, the role of Maggie, aged 21. Paul’s laboratory tests are stable. However,
nurses is to encourage, acknowledge, and support the family nurses visits the family regularly for diabetic education and
in their spiritual journey, and incorporate the other interven- monitors Paul’s blood sugar levels, diet, and exercise. The
tions in Table 2. nurse observes they are a spiritual family although they
openly express their atheism. They have strong horizontal
relationships with the external systems of health care, their
The Ngoh family
neighbours, and extended family members; they show deep
The Ngoh family consists of Martin, aged 48, his wife Anna, love and trust in one another. The vertical aspect of their
aged 46, their son Phil, aged 16, and daughter Amy aged 18. spirituality is evident in their love for the universe; they often
Amy has hepatitis C, which she contracted following a blood spend quiet moments enjoying nature. Faith in and commit-
transfusion. The nurse discovers that this has been a very ment to all their vertical and horizontal relationships give
close Protestant family. They usually resolved conflicts them strength, enabling them to cope with Paul’s diabetes.
through open communication, bible study, church attend- This family’s purpose is to remain supportive, connected,
ance, and prayer. Their spirituality is religion based, and their and loving to one another. They express inner peace and joy
belief and faith in God has given them strength to manage as a family unit. They want nurses to support their spiritu-
crises. ality by showing genuine kindness while respecting their
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6. R.A. Tanyi
family appears interested but reluctant, nurses should nurture
What is already known about this topic a trusting relationship with the family during subsequent
• Because humans are spiritual beings, all families are encounters before reintroducing the topic.
spiritual; spirituality is a vital resource that helps fam- If the family agrees, nurses must first explain the purpose of
ilies manage crises and maintain equilibrium. the assessment and how the information would be used. A
• The need to address family spirituality is espoused in the thorough family assessment requires that data be collected
literature. from each family member (Wright & Leahey 2000). If all
• There is a lack of guidelines to assist nurses with spir- family members are not present, data from those not
itual assessment and interventions explicitly for famil- available can be obtained later. If time does not allow nurses
ies. to complete the entire assessment, data from one category
(e.g. beliefs) can be obtained, and the rest completed at
subsequent visits.
What this paper adds While a lack of educational preparation and time
• When considering family spirituality, it is important to constraints are cited as barriers to providing spiritual care
recognize the uniqueness of each family member’s (McSherry 1998), other research suggests that nurses do in
spirituality. fact attend to families’ spiritual needs (Stiles 1990) regardless
• A guideline is proposed for spiritual assessment and of these barriers. Therefore, Swinton’ (2001) argument that
interventions for families as a beginning solution to the the issue of time constraints may represent how nurses
lack of such guidelines. prioritizes care may be operative; especially for nurses who
• A call is issued to family nursing writers, clinicians, and desire to provide spiritual care, and do not perceive it as a
researchers to develop this proposed guideline. burden (Walter 2002). While educational preparation is
beneficial, the initial step in providing spiritual care is being
comfortable with the topic regardless of a formal education
atheism. No conflicts are noted, and family members share (Maugans 1996).
similar spiritual views (Augsberger 1986). The ideal setting for using this guideline is families’ homes,
Although an atheist family, the Wongs clearly display a and so it is especially useful for family health nurses making
strong sense of spiritual well-being. They epitomize the home visits. However, the guideline is useful in almost all
concept that all families are spiritual, because humans are community settings, such as nursing homes and hospices,
spiritual beings. They further exemplify that each family has where nurses have frequent contact with families.
spiritual needs (e g. respect and kindness from nurses) even Patients with chronic illnesses are more likely to make
when no crises are present, although the extent of needs frequent visits to their healthcare providers and develop
would vary for every family and circumstance. In this trusting relationships with them; therefore, the guideline is
situation, nurses would document the data, formulate an also applicable for advanced practice nurses in clinic settings.
accurate interpretation of continual spiritual support, and In clinics, the guideline can be used during annual physicals,
then implement the interventions in Table 2. as more time is typically allotted for these visits. It is unlikely
that nurses will meet the entire family during clinic visits.
Nonetheless, the data can still be obtained and documented
Implications for nursing practice
from one source, then expanded as nurses encounters other
After obtaining other healthcare information, the spiritual family members at different visits. This guideline would
data should be collected next; this may be at the initial, improve nurses’ understanding of families’ dynamics, and
second, or subsequent encounters with the family, provided a could reveal potential conflicts between spiritual beliefs and
trusting relationship is established or beginning to be devel- adherence to healthcare treatments; thus, it can be adapted to
oped, and the family consents to it. The initial process of suit each family’s unique needs.
collecting healthcare data provides an excellent opportunity
for nurses to introduce the spiritual aspect, because most
Conclusion
healthcare history forms ask for religious affiliation. If the
family is willing to discuss their religious affiliation, nurses Use of this guideline would improve nurses’ understanding of
may use this opportunity to broach the topic of spiritual family functioning, thereby enhancing communication and
assessment. The family’s response will tell nurses either to trust in nurses–family relationship. Spiritual care is ongoing
continue or to abandon the topic (McEvoy 2000). If the with each family interaction, and spirituality is an important
292 Ó 2006 The Author. Journal compilation Ó 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

7. Issues and innovations in nursing practice Spirituality and family nursing
component of many families: its impact cannot be underes- Kaslow F. & Robison J.A. (1996) Long-term satisfying marriages:
timated on the overall family health. perceptions of contributing factors. The American Journal of
Family Therapy 24(2), 153–170.
By attending to families’ spiritual needs, nurses would be
Kloosterhouse V. & Ames B.D. (2002) Families’ use of religion/
promoting a comprehensive and holistic approach to health- spirituality as a psychosoical resource. Holistic Nursing Practice
care delivery. Not examining the spiritual dimension of 16(5), 61–76.
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The author would like to thank Jennifer L. Feeken and Mary sing in a multi-faith society. Journal of Advanced Nursing 45(5),
Wittenbreer, librarians at Region’s Hospital Medical Library, 457–464.
Massey R.F. & Adriana B.D. (1999) Viewing the transactional di-
St Paul MN, USA for their invaluable assistance during the
mensions of spirituality through family prisms. Transactional
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