The Use, Application and Integration of Religion/Spirituality in Clinical Social Service: The Case of Clinical Social Service Providers in Addis Ababa
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Date
2015-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Thi s study aimed to explore the contribution reli gion/s pirituality makes in the process ofh elping
pati ents in clini cal social service. Utiliz ing a mix of online and paper survey research , this
random sample study of clini cal service providers explored parti cipants' attitude/perception as a
measure of th eir consent or di sagreement towards in cluding these two concepts in practice and
the ir practical use of religious/spiritually integrated interventions. The responses obtain ed from
67 practitioners to RRSP Likert-type scale Index of 14 interventions mostly showed indifference
on the utili zation of reli gious/spiritually integrated intervention s. However, practitioners that
were involved in religious establi shments agreed mo re to the integration of religion/spirituality in
practice, utilizing it in 75% of their cases as opposed to those working in secul ar institution s.
Data collected throu gh surveys generated results from practitioners of governmental and nongovernmental
in stitutions that are mainly engaged in three clinical fi elds; mental health,
HIV/ AIDS and child care. Results indicate that profess iona ls in the fi eld of child care agreed to
use these concepts more than those in the fi eld of mental health and HIV/A IDS. Practi t ioners'
professional attitude toward the role of reli gion and spirituality in clinical social service was
found to be the most important predi ctor of intervention in this sample. The study includes a
review of existing literature related to religiou s/spirituality in health care.
Future researches should explore the actual need for religious/spiritual integrated practice in
Addis Ababa and th e effective use of evidence-based spiritually integrated interventions as
alternative ways of coping with health problems, especia lly in palliative care.
Key words:
Reli gious/S piritually integrated intervention s, mental heal th, HIV/A IDS, child care, clini cal
soci al work
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Keywords
Reli gious/S piritually integrated intervention s,, mental heal th, HIV/A IDS, child care, clini cal soci al work