Addressing the Spiritual Needs of Hospitalized Asian Americans: Predictors of Satisfaction among a National Sample of Inpatients

Abstract

Tailoring services to address patients' spiritual needs is widely recognized to be an important component of service provision in health care settings. Yet, despite the growth of the Asian American population, little research has examined predictors of Asian American patients' satisfaction with this process. To address this gap, the present study employed a national sample of Asian Americans (A/ = 2,102) to identify predictors of satisfaction with the manner in which their spiritual needs were addressed during hospitalization. The results indicate that nursing, visitors, the discharge process, room quality, and food service played significant roles in satisfactorily addressing Asian American patients' spiritual needs. The implications are discussed for social workers as key players in the health care team and administrators of the discharge process. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE •Administrating a spiritual assessment that explores preferences in the areas of visitors, room quality, and meals are important components of care, as are discharge plans that take any lingering, unaddressed spiritual concerns into account.

Annual review of Asian American Psychology, 2013.

“…Cherry (2013) found that Catholicism facilitates Filipino American community involvement. Hodge, Bonifas, and Wolosin (2013) reported that Asian American patients were more satisfied with hospitalization when their spiritual needs were addressed. Finally, Kim, Miles-Mason, Kim, and Esquivel (2013) found that daily spiritual experiences of forgiveness and congregational support were significant predictors of life satisfaction in Korean American adolescents.…”