Earbuds, smartphones, and music. Spiritual care and existential changes in COVID-19 times.

Rooted in a Durkheimian functionalist reading of religion, in this article, we present and discuss the results of a scoping study of on-line sources on the delivery of spiritual care during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Spiritual care highlights the bond between healthcare and religion/spirituality, particularly within the growing paradigm of holistic and humane care. Spiritual care is also an area where the importance of the physical presence of receivers and providers is exceptionally important, as a classic anthropological understanding of the religious ritual would maintain. Three themes were found, which speak to changes brought about by the pandemic. These revolve around disembodiment, solitude, and technology in spiritual care, of religious and non-religious nature. A fourth theme encapsulates the ambivalence in the experience of spiritual care delivery, whereby distant and virtual care could only partially compensate for the impossibility of physical presence. On the one hand, we draw from anthropology of the ritual and phenomenology to make the case for the inalienability of intercorporeality in being there for the other. On the other hand, relying on digital religious studies and post-human theories, we argue for an opening up to new ways of conceptualising the body, being there, and being human.

Earbuds, smartphones, and music. Spiritual care and existential changes in COVID-19 times

Rooted in a Durkheimian functionalist reading of religion, in this article, we present and discuss the results of a scoping study of on-line sources on the delivery of spiritual care during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Spiritual care highlights the bond between healthcare and religion/spirituality, particularly within the growing paradigm of holistic and humane care. Spiritual care is also an area where the importance of the physical presence of receivers and providers is exceptionally important, as a classic anthropological understanding of the religious ritual would maintain. Three themes were found, which speak to changes brought about by the pandemic. These revolve around disembodiment, solitude, and technology in spiritual care, of religious and non-religious nature. A fourth theme encapsulates the ambivalence in the experience of spiritual care delivery, whereby distant and virtual care could only partially compensate for the impossibility of physical presence. On the one hand, we draw from anthropology of the ritual and phenomenology to make the case for the inalienability of intercorporeality in being there for the other. On the other hand, relying on digital religious studies and post-human theories, we argue for an opening up to new ways of conceptualising the body, being there, and being human.

Towards a national strategy for the provision of spiritual care during major health disasters: A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Spirituality is beneficial to health. Evidence around the benefits of Spiritual care (SC) is advancing, and training is becoming part of healthcare professional development. As the COVID-19 crisis showed, during major health disasters (MHDs), the demand for SC grows exponentially, while the burden of care and focus on preserving life often hamper its provision. Nonetheless, existing health emergency strategic frameworks lack preparedness for the provision of SC. AIM: The aim of this study was to identify the components for a National Strategy (NS) for the provision of SC during MHDs. METHODS: Descriptive, cross-sectional, qualitative phenomenological design based on individual, semi-structured e-interviews with nursing managers and National Health Service/volunteer chaplains based in England. Thematic analysis of 25 e-interview data was performed based on a dialogic collaborative process. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Eleven themes were identified as components of the proposed NS. From these components, specific recommendations for practical actions are provided. An integrated framework approach and smart investments in resources, staff training and technologies should be led by the paradigm of culturally competent and compassionate care. CONCLUSION: The need to have strategic frameworks, both national and local, that better equip a country healthcare sector to prevent, face, and recover from MHDs is paramount. Catering for the spiritual needs of the affected population should be a key aspect of any health emergency strategy to ensure the preservation of quality care.

Spiritual Support During COVID-19 in England: A Scoping Study of Online Sources.

Spiritual support is a key element of holistic care, and better healthcare professionals training and stronger strategic guidelines become urgent in light of health disasters and emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, the aim of this study was to explore spiritual support provision within mass and social media and the websites of spiritual leaders, institutions and NHS chaplaincy units during COVID-19 in England, between March and May 2020. A scoping review design informed by Levac and colleagues' five-staged framework was adopted, and adapted with a multi-strategy search to scope the different domains of online sources. Results revealed that spiritual support for dying patients, their families, health care staff, spiritual leaders and chaplains, had to be drastically reduced, both in quality and quantity, as well as being provided via different technological devices or domestic symbolic actions. No mention was found of a central strategy for the provision of spiritual support. This study points to the importance of developing centralized strategies to prepare healthcare systems and professionals in relation to spiritual support provision, both routinely and during health disasters and emergencies. Further research will have to explore innovative practices, in particular the role of digital technologies, in spiritual support provision.