Care Plan Help....Spiritual Distress r/t

[Kemccanha]

Any suggestions? I'm doing my geriatric careplan and my nursing diagnosis is Spiritual distress r/t separation from religion due to hospitalization.

Can anybody give me some ideas on some objective signs that would lead to this diagnosis? I'm trying to say something to the affect of the facial flat affact....or something...any help? This is a careplan that we are basically making up....any suggestions?

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

tearful,,,,"my religion is important to me."

"I haven't missed a sunday in 20 years" etc...

[Kemccanha]

Excellent! Thank you so much! That's exactly what I was looking for but you know when you just can't think anymore! LOL Thanks!

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

it sounds like what you are looking for is assessment information that would qualify as defining characteristics. here are the guidelines for this nursing diagnosis from pages 208-9 of nanda-i nursing diagnoses: definitions & classification 2007-2008 published by nanda international:

"spiritual distress. definition: impaired ability to experience and integrate meaning and purpose in life through connectedness with self, others, art, music, literature, nature, and/or a power greater than oneself.

defining characteristics [these would be your aeb items, or symptoms you get from your assessment of the patient]: connections to self (anger, expresses lack of acceptance, expresses lack of courage, expresses lack of forgiveness of self, expresses lack of hope, expresses lack of love, expresses lack of meaning in life, expresses lack of purpose in life, expresses lack of serenity [e.g., peace], guilt, poor coping), connections with others (expresses alienation, refuses interactions with significant others, refuses interactions with spiritual leaders, verbalizes being separated from support system), connections with art, music, literature, nature (disinterest in nature, disinterest in reading spiritual literature, inability to express previous state of creativity[e.g., singing/listening to music/writing]), connections with power greater than self (expresses being abandoned, expresses having anger toward god, expresses hopelessness, expresses suffering, inability to be introspective, inability to experience the transcendent, inability to participate in religious activities, inability to pray, requests to see a religious leader, sudden changes in spiritual practices).

related factors [these would be your r/t items, or etiologies of your defining characteristics]: active dying, anxiety, chronic illness, death, life change, loneliness, pain, self-alienation, social alienation, sociocultural deprivation."