SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS COPING IN AN ICU: REFLECTIONS ON THE INTEGRATION OF SPIRITUALITY INTO HEALTH CARE

• Main Author: Rute Gomes Esperandio, Mary
• Publication Date: 2017
• Other Authors: Brigitte Michel, Renate, Augusto Colli Trebien, Heitor, Lúcia Menegatti, Cláudia
• Format: Article
• Language: por
• Source: Interações (Uberlândia. Online)
• DOI: 10.5752/P.1983-2478.2017v12n22p303
• Download full: http://periodicos.pucminas.br/index.php/interacoes/article/view/P.1983-2478.2017v12n22p303
• topic: Spiritual/Religious Coping; Interdisciplinary; Bioethics; Psychology; Practical Theology; Coping religioso/espiritual; Interdisciplinaridade; Bioética; Psicologia; Teologia Prática.

The experience of having a family member hospitalized in an ICU is stressful, leading the individual to search for support to deal with such a situation. This study aimed to understand specifically the spiritual resources used by families in facing the situation of a family member hospitalization in an ICU of an emergency and trauma hospital. Forty family members were interviewed. Of these, 24 (60%) reported using religion as the main coping method and 13 of them (54,1%) changed their religious practices in such a situation. Prayer was the most used strategy by 20 participants (83,33%). After 6 months, the majority of participants had maintained or even increased their religious practices. The study indicates that spirituality/religiosity is an important factor in facing situations in which life is threatened, being relevant its integration into the care practices by the multidisciplinary hospital team. It also highlights that as with other aspects of intensive care, interdisciplinary collaboration is essential when it comes to the integration of spirituality into the health care.