Leitao Jay, Nixon Jordyn, Noble Madison, Willock Taylor, Watts Lynelle, Waters Rebecca, Hatfield Megan
Curtin School of Allied Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Aust Occup Ther J. 2023 Apr;70(2):246-256. doi: 10.1111/1440-1630.12852. Epub 2022 Nov 13.
Spirituality is included as a core part of occupational therapy models, as it can enhance connectedness and belonging and provide meaning to occupations. However, research that has explored occupational therapists' perspectives on spirituality has found that a lack of education and understanding of the concept means that currently many therapists do not address it in their practice. Existing research focusses on adult clients, and there is no known published research that focusses on occupational therapists working with children and their views on spirituality in clinical practice. This study explored the perspectives of occupational therapists working with children on spirituality in their clinical practice with children.
This study used a qualitative descriptive design. Participants included 20 registered occupational therapists working with children in Australia. Data were collected using focus groups and interviews and analysed using thematic analysis to determine key themes.
Five themes were developed: (1) vagueness and subjectivity of spirituality, (2) overlapping characteristics of spirituality and religion, (3) indirect focus on spirituality, (4) differences in children's spirituality, and (5) outcomes of addressing spirituality.
Occupational therapists working with children report difficulty conceptualising spirituality and describing its role in clinical practice with children. Despite this, most suggested that spirituality is indirectly applied and has a role in improving the wellbeing of children. There is a need for exploration of how to directly support the use of spirituality in practice with children to further support holistic and family-centred care.
灵性被纳入职业治疗模式的核心部分，因为它可以增强联系感和归属感，并为职业赋予意义。然而，探索职业治疗师对灵性看法的研究发现，对这一概念缺乏教育和理解意味着目前许多治疗师在实践中并未涉及这一领域。现有研究聚焦于成年客户，尚无已知的已发表研究关注与儿童合作的职业治疗师及其在临床实践中对灵性的看法。本研究探讨了与儿童合作的职业治疗师在与儿童的临床实践中对灵性的看法。
本研究采用质性描述性设计。参与者包括20名在澳大利亚与儿童合作的注册职业治疗师。通过焦点小组和访谈收集数据，并使用主题分析来确定关键主题。
形成了五个主题：（1）灵性的模糊性和主观性，（2）灵性与宗教的重叠特征，（3）对灵性的间接关注，（4）儿童灵性的差异，（5）处理灵性的结果。
与儿童合作的职业治疗师报告称，难以对灵性进行概念化并描述其在与儿童的临床实践中的作用。尽管如此，大多数人认为灵性是间接应用的，并且在改善儿童福祉方面发挥着作用。需要探索如何在与儿童的实践中直接支持灵性的运用，以进一步支持整体和以家庭为中心的护理。
