[An experience applying a spiritual care model to a first-time stroke patient]

Patients with stroke-related disabilities are at risk of depression and social isolation. This can make it difficult for the patient to cope with his or her disease and increase caregiver burden. While good at dealing with physical illness, nurses are often poor at attending to patients' mental and spiritual needs. In this paper, the authors introduce their experience using a spiritual care model to care for a stroke patient. The patient, a 69 year-old retiree, was admitted to our hospital due to an acute stroke. During hospitalization, he suffered from acute confusion and persistent focal weakness. His disability resulted in physical dependence, which did not improve during rehabilitation. We used a model of spiritual care and in-depth evaluation to identify several underlying psychological issues. These included feelings of hopelessness and loss of control and motivation. The authors established trust through active listening. In addition to standard nursing education and physical care, we, in cooperation with the patient's children, provided encouragement and support to help the patient cope with his disease burden and actively participate in rehabilitation. We applied a multi-dimensional spiritual care approach to help the patient shift from hopelessness to hopefulness. This enhanced his motivation to participate in rehabilitation and improved his self-care abilities. We hope this case report on the application of a spiritual-care model is useful reference for nurses responsible to care for stroke patients.