Reflection on the Importance of Spirituality in Culturally Safe Healthcare

This assignment reflects on the importance of spirituality in providing culturally safe healthcare to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It discusses how spirituality positively impacts the health and well-being of these communities and emphasizes the need for nurses to value and incorporate spirituality in their care practices.

Running head: REFLECTION 1
Reflection
Name:
Institution:
Tutor:
Date:

REFLECTION 2
Description
In this particular assignment, I will use the Gibbs reflection cycle to reflect on the
importance of spirituality in providing culturally safe healthcare to the Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders. A culturally safe nursing practice is an approach to care where the patient is
empowered and allowed to make their own decisions. The nurse in this case only provides
information but is the patient to decide what is good or bad to him (Brown, Middleton, Fereday,
& Pincombe, 2016). The Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders acknowledge the importance of
spirituality during sickness. Recent studies show that spirituality has positively impacted the
health well-being of the Aboriginal. Majority of them report improved health after spiritual
interventions (Campbell, Hunt, Scrimgeour, Davey, & Jones, 2018). Furthermore, spirituality has
had a huge impact on myself as a healthcare expert. I have learnt that as a nurse, I need to value
spirituality of any patient. I need to allow a patient engage in spiritual activities such as inviting
the chaplain or any other spiritual leader of the patient’s choice to offer encouragement and
guidance to the patient while they are sick.
Feelings
In the entire unit, I was very excited. Previously, I thought it is the sole responsibility of a
nurse to make decisions on behalf of the patient. I also thought that spirituality is not important
during treatment. I believed that the best thing for a patient is adherence to the prescribed
treatment regimen. Little did I know that spirituality can improve the well-being of a patient. The
concept of spirituality therefore got me excited (Smith, Fatima, & Knight, 2017). After this unit
that focus on cultural safety of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders, that notion has
changed. At the moment, I have realized or feel that it is necessary for a nurse to give a nod on
the spiritual desires of the patient (McGough, Wynaden, & Wright, 2017). I therefore feel

REFLECTION 3
accomplished as a nurse and am ready to incorporate culturally safe care especially spirituality to
not only the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders but all patients in general.
Critical evaluation
Throughout the unit, everything was positive. According to studies, health from the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders acknowledge the value of spirituality in healthcare.
Spirituality is defined as an attachment to religious values and morals (Campbell, Hunt,
Scrimgeour, Davey, & Jones, 2018). The studies further explain that when spiritual needs of a
patient are met, the patient can function in a very meaningful manner (Wain et al., 2016).
Spirituality is therefore important since it will enable nurses to meet the desires or needs of the
patient. Normally, I dodnt respond in the same way. I have always believed that it is the nurse to
make decision without consulting the patient. After this unit however, I have changed that
perspective.
I knew what I knew through the extensive lectures by my professors and the discussion
with my classmates. My response to the whole unit has been phenomenal. I have really enjoyed
the unit about spirituality since I know it will bolster my expertise while caring for the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders
Analysis and conclusion
Previously, I did not know that there are different factors that have influenced my
attitudes and beliefs about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Environmental
factors have been on the fore front. Since these communities are my neighbors, I have had a
chance to see how spirituality works well for them. I have in most cases seen them seek spiritual
intervention when they are sick (Dell, Firestone, Smylie, & Vaillancourt, 2015). Majority of the

REFLECTION 4
Aboriginal people come from rural set ups, they are therefore still conjoined with old and
outdated beliefs about healthcare and this is the reason why the still uphold spirituality.
In this unit, I have had a chance to comprehend somethings that I dint know. I have learnt
that a nurse while providing care to a patient, should take time and politely inquire about the
cultural beliefs of the patients (Irving, Gwynne, Angell, Tennant, & Blinkhorn, 2016). The nurse
should then allow the patient to make decision. Studies claim that this will improve the health
and well-being of indigenous communities (Lin et al., 2017). It is therefore imperative that
nurses incorporate culturally safe practices when handling their patients.
Action plan
I have learnt that spirituality plays a critical role in the health and well-being of the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people (West et al., 2016).In order to implement culturally
appropriate care while caring for the Aboriginals, I will educate fellow staff members on its
members. Furthermore, I will attend more forums just to ensure that I understand the concept of
cultural safe practices and disseminate the same knowledge to other workers. I will also include
cultural safe practices into the policies of the institution that I will be working with (Kingsley,
Townsend, Henderson-Wilson, & Bolam, 2013). However, there are more things that I should
learn concerning spirituality. One of the issues is critical thinking skills. I feel that I should be
empowered with critical thinking skills to comprehend and link spirituality to the illness of the
patient (Laverty, McDermott, & Calma, 2017).

REFLECTION 5
References
Brown, A. E., Middleton, P. F., Fereday, J. A., & Pincombe, J. I. (2016). Cultural safety and
midwifery care for Aboriginal women – A phenomenological study. Women and
Birth, 29(2), 196-202. doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2015.10.013
Campbell, M. A., Hunt, J., Scrimgeour, D. J., Davey, M., & Jones, V. (2018). Contribution
of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services to improving Aboriginal
health: an evidence review. Australian Health Review, 42(2), 218.
doi:10.1071/ah16149
Campbell, M. A., Hunt, J., Scrimgeour, D. J., Davey, M., & Jones, V. (2018). Contribution
of Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services to improving Aboriginal
health: an evidence review. Australian Health Review, 42(2), 218.
doi:10.1071/ah16149
Dell, E. M., Firestone, M., Smylie, J., & Vaillancourt, S. (2015). Cultural Safety and
Providing Care to Aboriginal patients in the Emergency Department. CJEM, 18(4),
301-305. doi:10.1017/cem.2015.100
Irving, M., Gwynne, K., Angell, B., Tennant, M., & Blinkhorn, A. (2016). Client
perspectives on an Aboriginal community led oral health service in rural Australia.
Australian Journal of Rural Health, 25(3), 163-168. doi:10.1111/ajr.12307
Kingsley, J., Townsend, M., Henderson-Wilson, C., & Bolam, B. (2013). Developing an
Exploratory Framework Linking Australian Aboriginal Peoples’ Connection to

REFLECTION 6
Country and Concepts of Wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 10(2), 678-698. doi:10.3390/ijerph10020678
Laverty, M., McDermott, D. R., & Calma, T. (2017). Embedding cultural safety in
Australia's main health care standards. Medical Journal of Australia, 207(1), 15-16.
doi:10.5694/mja17.00328
Lin, I. B., Ryder, K., Coffin, J., Green, C., Dalgety, E., Scott, B., … O’Sullivan, P. B.
(2017). Addressing Disparities in Low Back Pain Care by Developing Culturally
Appropriate Information for Aboriginal Australians: “My Back on Track, My
Future”. Pain Medicine, pnw314. doi:10.1093/pm/pnw314
McGough, S., Wynaden, D., & Wright, M. (2017). Experience of providing cultural safety in
mental health to Aboriginal patients: A grounded theory study. International Journal
of Mental Health Nursing, 27(1), 204-213. doi:10.1111/inm.12310
Smith, K., Fatima, Y., & Knight, S. (2017). Are primary healthcare services culturally
appropriate for Aboriginal people? Findings from a remote community. Australian
Journal of Primary Health, 23(3), 236. doi:10.1071/py16110
Wain, T., Sim, M., Bessarab, D., Mak, D., Hayward, C., & Rudd, C. (2016). Engaging
Australian Aboriginal narratives to challenge attitudes and create empathy in health
care: a methodological perspective. BMC Medical Education, 16(1).
doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0677-2
West, R., Gamble, J., Kelly, J., Milne, T., Duffy, E., & Sidebotham, M. (2016). Culturally
capable and culturally safe: Caseload care for Indigenous women by Indigenous
midwifery students. Women and Birth, 29(6), 524-530.
doi:10.1016/j.wombi.2016.05.003

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