Spirituality, Religiousness, and Culture in Neurorehabilitation

Psychological interventions on the front lines: A roadmap for the development of a behavioral treatment program to mitigate the mental health burden faced by COVID-19 survivors.

“…Spanish-speaking COVID-19 survivors, as compared to their English-speaking counterparts, were more likely to frame their illness in the context of their religious and/or spiritual background. As such, and consistent with literature (Lequerica et al, 2014;Lomay & Johnstone, 2015), interventions were modified as necessary to be sensitive to outpatients' self-identified religious and spiritual affiliation. For example, patients who felt uncomfortable with mindfulness meditation out of concern that it too closely resembles Buddhist custom and therefore in violation of their faith were provided alternative exercises to foster present moment awareness including passage meditation (Oman & Beddoe, 2005;Oman et al, 2007) and contemplative practice with hymns and/or prayers.…”

A Call for Transformative Intersectional LPAA Intervention for Equity and Social Justice in Ethnosocially Diverse Post-Stroke Aphasia Services

“…Synergizing the equity and social justice goals of an intersectional perspective with the social purpose of the LPAA model can have a tremendous transformative impact in aphasia intervention for vulnerable marginalized geriatric populations. Interestingly, in 2020, as the LPAA was turning 20 years old, the 20th anniversary of the LPAA coincided with the catalyzing momentum for equity and social justice in health care propelled by the disparities highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Devakumar et al, 2020;Lo ´pez et al, 2021).…”

“…Transformative intervention methods are critical to minimize the disparities in health care highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Devakumar et al, 2020;Lo ´pez et al, 2021). Drawing from transformative research methods (Mertens, 2009;O'Reilly-de Bru ´n et al, 2016;Watson-Singleton et al, 2023), adapting qualitative research strategies to transform aphasia intervention in ethnogeriatric contexts will engage the voices of PWAs and their caregivers from marginalized groups to drive the clinical process and assist to minimize disparities.…”

“…In health care, persisting health inequities encompass health status (e.g., mental/physical well-being and comorbidity profiles), care (e.g., access, extent, and quality of care), and outcomes (e.g., intervention gains, recovery profile, and quality of life). Because such disparities continue to exist despite improvements in healthcare education, research, and practice (Lo ´pez & Gadsden, 2016;Williams et al, 2019), a socially responsive transformative overhaul of the healthcare system, aligned with community needs and norms, is required to minimize inequities in the vulnerable and marginalized ethnoracial groups in the United States (Berwick, 2020;Centeno et al, 2023;Lo ´pez et al, 2021).…”

“…Summer 2020 was a time of tremendous social unrest in the United States when the heightened anxiety created by the high mortality and infection rates from the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in marginalized social groups, coalesced with the extreme tension from growing cases of police brutality (Arora, 2020;Lo ´pez et al, 2021). In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was the sociopolitical catalyst that, by highlighting persisting health inequities and social injustice in marginalized ethnoracial groups in the United States, strengthened the urgent call to transform the healthcare system toward the reduction of health disparities in our increasingly diverse society (Devakumar et al, 2020;Lo ´pez et al, 2021). In health care, persisting health inequities encompass health status (e.g., mental/physical well-being and comorbidity profiles), care (e.g., access, extent, and quality of care), and outcomes (e.g., intervention gains, recovery profile, and quality of life).…”