Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity - Essay Example

Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity Abstract Every person needs health care in the course of life. Provision of health care services remains a crucial facet of the health concerns of individuals. Health care is of great importance to a person’s life since it involves life and well-being. With health care being so vital to a person’s life, it is easy to assume that every person readily accepts the provision of health care services. However, the reality of provision of health care services is dependent upon many factors, which vary from one person to the other. Factors such as the financial standing of an individual and the social welfare of a person determine the kind of health care accessible to that individual. The motivation of this research paper is factors that influence the provision of health care services to individuals. The paper concentrates on the effects of spiritual beliefs to provision of health care services. In that regard, the study will seek to compare two spiritual beliefs, the Christians, Jehovah witness, and their worldviews. The research will seek to establish how spirituality and healing connect and how health practitioners can use this knowledge in the provision of health care services. Health Care Provider And Faith Diversity: First Draft The access and provision of health care services vary greatly among individuals influenced by either the social, economic or spiritual standing. This study will mainly focus to unearthing how the spiritual or the religious beliefs of an individual can influence the provision of health care. The study will seek to address the various worldview questions, as well as a comparative analysis of the various belief systems, but focusing attention on Christianity and Jehovah witness. The study focuses on the spiritual viewpoints on healing, critical components of healing and creates the understanding of the notion of patients of faith in the event of receiving health care from providers of different faith. The study will also seek to show the benefits of this research and its impact towards provision of health care as well as how this learning can apply to a health care provider. Shelly and Miller (2006) assert that the term worldview is the most fundamental and accepted views of what is the reality held by a certain group of people in a culture. A worldview includes assumptions about the arrangements of nature, and the values used to examine the world (Heb 4:15). James Sire is quoted to define worldview as a commitment, or a fundamental orientation of the heart told in the form of a story that may be true or otherwise (Alstott, 2007). To understand this concept, James asserts that it is important to answer a set of questions. These questions are: what is a primary reality? What is a human being? What becomes of a person after death? What is the nature of the world around? How can one know what is right or wrong? What is the significance of human history? Why is it probable to know anything at all? (Alstott, 2007). For Christians, the answers to these questions are to be found in the careful study of the Bible. For Christians, the Scriptures reveal the nature of persons. In the scriptures, the prime reality is God, who created everything in the universe both the seen and the unseen. The Christian worldview encompasses the reality of the spiritual and what is unseen with the importance of prayer and faith. Christian worldview appreciates the use of empirical science and sound technology in the provision of health care since they are gifts from God for the good of his creation. In Christian worldview, God is the sole creator of the universe, and all human race comes from God (Acts 17:28). The ministry of Jesus Christ on earth of healing the sick, casting demons and raising the dead reveals to Christians that God is concerned about human illness and suffering. It is through Jesus Christ that Christians draw the motivation and strength of showing care to the sick and people in suffering (1st John 3:1). In Christian worldview, the Bible gives Christians an affirmation that the world is real and was created by God (Eph 6:12). Christians hold that healing comes from God and that just as Christ has compassion for the suffering, a Christian should have compassion and show kindness to the sick. Since sickness and sufferings come from the devil, an enemy of God, healing is spiritual, and spirituality happens in the spiritual to and then manifests in the physical. The worldview of Christianity differs from other doctrines. For instance, even though Jehova witness use and read the Christian Bible, there are striking differences between the worldview of Jehovah witness and Christianity. According to Heather and Botting (1984), Jehovah Witness defines themselves as servants of Jehovah, the Almighty God. Jehovah witness does not view themselves as belonging or being part of this world, but they are just preachers to this world. They hold Jehovah as the universal force, and His absence is inconceivable. Nothing can exist without Jehovah. The witnesses do not believe in the immortality of the soul, but hold that anyone who remains faithful to Jehovah, God will remember him after death and give him another independent body as it pleases God. The worldview of Jehovah witness presents a dilemma to any health care provider due to their strong views on blood. Galanti (2008) asserts that due to Jehovah witness strong position against the use of blood transfusion, many health practitioners face difficulty in respecting this position. The worldview of Jehovah witness is that, all those who have violated God's laws by having blood transfusion and worshipping idols through saluting the national flag will not have a place in paradise. A health care practitioner who may not hold the same spiritual beliefs like that of a patient holding the doctrines of Jehovah witness faces a huge conflict of profession ethics and spiritual beliefs. In a case when the patient requires an urgent blood transfusion to survive. While Health practitioners hold great value to the life of the physical body, Jehovah witness value the life of the soul more than the life of the physical body. An atheist health practitioner may find it odd why a patient attaches great value to spiritual beliefs rather than the physical wellbeing. Gomes (1998) answers this rhetoric by drawing a parallel comparison chart between Christians and Jehovah witness. Jehovah Witnesses hold that after death, the soul of a man dies and thus there is no difference of death of a person and that of animals. On their part, Christians hold that the soul does not die but there is life after death. The soul goes to God for judgment. (Rev.14). In addition, Jehovah Witnesses hold that there is no heaven and that Jehovah will come down on the day of immersed and cast away those who did not follow his laws. In contrast, Christians hold that there is a new heaven that Christ Jesus is preparing for the righteous and once it is complete Christ will come for the righteous (John 14:1-4). Jehovah witness holds that it is enough to read the Bible in parts alone whether at home or in groups. Christian world is different from this perspective and holds that to understand God, and His creation, one needs to read all scriptures ( 2nd Tim 3:16-17). The parallels drawn by Gomes (1998) cast a light to the complex connection of spiritual doctrines and beliefs influence a patient’s decision in making healthcare choices. Young and Koopsen (2011) assert that healing and spirituality intertwine closely. The knowledge of the connection between healthcare and spirituality is very important to any healthcare provider. Healing is a spiritual journey that takes place over time through a person’s journey in life. Healing and curing are different concepts. Curing is physical. It is what health care practitioner seeks to achieve in a person's physical nature through alleviating the signs and symptoms of a disease by use of anatomical methods. On the other hand, healing is spiritual and happens to the soul. Due to this fact, health care practitioners have started to develop interest in their spirituality, as well as that of their clients. Gaut and Boykin (1994) help to understand the concept of healing. Healing is not absence of suffering, but rather the integration of an individual in the presence of suffering. In view of this, compassion is a critical aspect that a health practitioner should have towards their patients. A health practitioner should be alive to the feelings of the patients and instill a sense of hope to the patient. The hope installed to a patient acts as a vital bridge from the feeling of suffering to an important road to recovery and healing. A sense of having a purpose for life is a very critical aspect for a patient to have for healing. Many spiritual people after recovering from illness conclude that it is because their mission and purpose for living is not yet over. A patient who has a sense of living can see beyond the present sufferings of illness and start an inward healing process. The critical aspect of hope cannot in the healing process is of paramount importance. A health practitioner should always be able to give hope to the patient even when their situation looks hopeless to the health practitioner. Lysaught (2012) assert that when a person who has spiritual beliefs gets sick, they view it as an opportunity to reassess how they have been living. It is time of change where they have had not been following the doctrines of their religion. As such Christians see it as God's intention and that healing comes from God. Christians do not thus take so much about the spiritual beliefs of a practitioner since their well-being is not dependent on the practitioner but rather God. The assertions Smith, Turkel and Wolf (2013) on beliefs and healing are worth noting for any healthcare practitioner. The belief of an individual is integral to their healing. A health practitioner should be alive to this fact in doing their work. As such, the educational as well as the practice of a health practitioner aim to discourage the health practitioner from getting involved with the spiritual beliefs of a patient. The health practitioner should aim to maintain a strictly professional relationship with their patient. However, it has been criticized since a health practitioner can instill a sense of faith and hope to their patients by maintaining a close relationship. However, the extent of this relationship should be guided towards the best interests of the patient. The provision and access to health care connect with different factors. These factors influence the provision of health care, and the quality of health ensured. Religion and spiritual beliefs of individuals are Chief among these factors. Spiritual beliefs of a person influence their worldview and go a long way in determining how a person lives and behaves. Among the Christians, they hold and believe that life is a gift from God and that all life is sacred. Although both the Christians and Jehovah witness use the Bible as their reference book, they have immense differences in their worldview. Christians hold that God wants to show care and concern for the sick and the suffering. Using science and technology when providing health care, for example, blood transfusion is acceptable in the Christian worldview. Among the Jehovah witness, they hold that they are God's messengers, and, for this reason, they are not of this world. In the provision of health care, Jehovah witness is conservative to modern forms of treatment such as blood transfusion since they hold blood to be sacred. A witness would rather die than have a blood transfusion. A health practitioner who understands the different beliefs and different world view between Christians and Jehovah witness will be positioned better in provision of health care to patients. References Shelly, J. A., & Miller, A. B. (2006). Called to care: A Christian worldview for nursing. Downers Grove, Ill: IVP Academic/InterVarsity Press. Botting, H. D. H., & Botting, G. N. A. (1984). The Orwellian world of Jehovah's Witnesses. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Young, C., & Koopsen, C. (2011). Spirituality, health, and healing: An integrative approach. Sudbury, Mass: Jones and Bartlett. Smith, M. C., Turkel, M. C., Wolf, Z. R., & Watson Caring Science Institute. (2013). Caring in nursing classics: An essential resource. New York: Springer Publications Galanti, G.-A. (2008). Caring for patients from different cultures. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Gomes, A. W. (1998). Truth and error: Comparative charts on cults and Christianity. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan. Lysaught, M. T. (2012). On Moral Medicine: Theological Perspectives in Medical Ethics. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. Gaut, D. A., Boykin, A., & International Human Caring Research Conference. (1994). Caring as healing: Renewal through hope. New York: National League for Nursing. Alstott, J.D. (2007). An Inquiry Into Worldview and It's Meaning for Organizations. Michigan: Proquest Read More