HLT 302 Meeting The Spiritual Needs Of The Acutely And Chronically Ill
Hope, trust, courage, faith, peace and love are not nursing interventions. Turning each into something a provider does is the work this assignment is setting.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 25, 2026
Turning six abstractions into six things a provider does
The six areas the brief lists are the assignment's difficulty. Hope, trust, courage, faith, peace and love are not interventions and cannot be delivered directly, so the group's task is to identify, for each one, a specific action a provider takes and the mechanism by which it operates. Hope in advanced illness is supported by reframing what is being hoped for, from cure toward comfort, a family event, or the absence of pain, and that reframing happens in a conversation with a structure. Trust is built by consistency and by not being the person who avoids the difficult conversation. Peace often turns on unfinished business, which is why a chaplaincy referral is a clinical intervention rather than a courtesy. Say that concretely and the presentation stops being a list of virtues. Each of those is a named action with a mechanism behind it, which is what the six headings are asking for.
The population choice should also do real work rather than serving as a heading. Spiritual need takes different shapes in cancer, in renal failure requiring lifelong dialysis, in HIV with its histories of stigma and disclosure, and in cognitive impairment where the person's own account of meaning may not be reliably accessible and the family becomes part of the unit of care. Choose one and let the six dimensions be answered for that population specifically. It also helps to use a validated spiritual assessment framework rather than asking about spirituality generally, since structured tools give a provider an opening question and a way to record what they found, and they are what the phrase health care provider process in the brief is pointing at. Finally, name the boundary: a provider supports a patient's own framework and does not supply one. That boundary is also a professional standard rather than a matter of personal comfort.
Likely learning objectives
- Translate each named dimension into a specific provider action.
- Choose a population whose spiritual needs differ identifiably.
- Use a validated spiritual assessment framework rather than open enquiry.
- State the boundary between supporting and supplying a belief framework.
Assignment instructions
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Details: This is a CLC assignment. Select one of the following special populations of patients who suffer with: Cancer HIV Renal failure Mental illness Cognitive impairment Another acute or chronic condition Research the patient group and select at least three research articles to be used in the presentation. HLT 302 CLC Meeting The Spiritual Needs Of The Acutely And Chronically Ill As a group, prepare an overview describing how to employ the health care provider process in analyzing the spiritual dimensions of the provider-patient relationship. Pay attention to patient needs in your chosen population (adults or children). What interventions can be used to meet the spiritual needs of a patient in your chosen population in the following areas: Hope Trust Courage Faith Peace Love Each group will determine the most effective manner in which to present the information that engages the entire class. APA format is not required, but solid academic writing is expected. This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment. Spiritual needs are among an individual’s essential needs in all places and times. With his physical and spiritual dimensions and the mutual effect of these two dimensions, human has spiritual needs as well. These needs are an intrinsic need throughout the life; therefore, they will remain as a major element of holistic nursing care. One of the greatest challenges for nurses is to satisfy the patients’ spiritual needs. METHODS: This is a qualitative study with hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Data were collected from 16 patients hospitalized in internal medicine-surgery wards and 6 nurses in the respective wards. Data were generated by open-ended interview and analyzed using Diekelmann’s seven-stage method. Rigorousness of findings was confirmed by use of this method as well as team interpretation, and referring to the text and participants. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Spiritual needs are those needs whose satisfaction causes the person’s spiritual growth and make the person a social, hopeful individual who always thanks God. They include the need for communication with others, communication with God, and being hopeful. In this study, the three obtained themes are the spiritual needs whose satisfaction is possible in nursing system. Considering these spiritual aspects accelerates patient’s treatment.
What the CLC presentation requires
- 01A group presentation on meeting the spiritual needs of a selected patient population.
- 02Selection of one special population from those listed and at least three research articles.
- 03An overview of how to employ the health care provider process in analysing the spiritual dimensions of the provider-patient relationship.
- 04Attention to the needs of your chosen population, adults or children.
- 05Interventions to meet spiritual needs in hope, trust, courage, faith, peace and love.
- 06A presentation format the group judges most effective for engaging the class.
Population, process, and the six dimensions
The population
Describe the illness trajectory and what it does to meaning and identity.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Trajectory connected to spiritual need.
The provider process
Set out assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation for spiritual care.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A process rather than an attitude.
Spiritual assessment
Present a validated framework and its opening questions.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A tool a provider could use tomorrow.
Hope, trust and courage
Give an intervention and a mechanism for each.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Actions with mechanisms.
Faith, peace and love
Cover referral, unfinished business and the role of family presence.
What the assessor is likely looking for
Chaplaincy treated as clinical referral.
Boundaries and evaluation
State the professional boundary and how you would know care helped.
What the assessor is likely looking for
A boundary stated and a measure proposed.
Where the spiritual assessment evidence sits
Recommended databases
- PubMed Central
- NCBI Bookshelf
- National Cancer Institute
- CINAHL
Search sequence
- 1.Read a spiritual assessment framework paper for the structured tool.
- 2.Search spiritual care in your chosen population specifically.
- 3.Find intervention studies rather than descriptive ones for at least one article.
- 4.Read on chaplaincy referral to ground the interventions in service provision.
Reference shortlist
These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.
SPIRITUALITY
Nursing Fundamentals, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Spirituality in nursing fundamentals, for the provider process.
Evaluation of the HOPE spiritual assessment model: a scoping review of international interest, applications and studies over 20+ years
BMC Palliative Care · 2025
Evaluation of the HOPE spiritual assessment model, for a structured tool.
Spirituality in Cancer Care (PDQ)
National Cancer Institute · 2024
Spirituality in cancer care, for a population-specific evidence summary.
The Importance of Cultural Competence in Pain and Palliative Care
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Cultural competence in pain and palliative care, for the boundary and the cultural dimension.
Nursing Ethical Considerations
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Nursing ethical considerations, for the professional limits on belief.
Before you present
Common mistakes
- Listing the six dimensions as virtues rather than as targets of action.
- Choosing a population and then not letting it change the answers.
- Asking about spirituality without a structured assessment tool.
- Supplying a belief framework rather than supporting the patient's own.
- Presenting three articles that describe the problem and none that evaluate an intervention.
Submission checklist
- Does each of the six dimensions have a concrete provider action?
- Is the population's specific situation reflected in the interventions?
- Is a named assessment framework used?
- Is the professional boundary stated?
- Are at least three research articles used, including evaluative ones?
Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read Brinevia's academic-integrity policy.
Written by
Maren Caldwell
MSN, RN, CNE
Medical-surgical nursing, pharmacology and NCLEX preparation
Maren is a registered nurse with over 15 years of clinical and educational experience in medical-surgical nursing. She writes on NCLEX preparation, patient care fundamentals, pharmacology and evidence-based practice.
Reviewed by
Dr. Tessa Redmond
DNP, RN, CNE
Evidence-based practice and clinical education
Tessa is a doctorally-prepared nurse educator. She reviews Brinevia content for clinical accuracy and alignment with current evidence-based guidelines.