Advancing Health in the 21st Century through Spiritually-guided Health Risk Interceptions (SGHRI)

Abstract

 

ADVANCING HEALTH IN THE 21^ST CENTURY THROUGH SPIRITUALLY-GUIDED HEALTH RISK INTERCEPTIONS (SGHRI)

The relationship between spirituality and health is evident in the literature. Additionally, approaches to health promotion guided by spirituality have proven beneficial in various health outcomes.  Research has also demonstrated the dire health outcomes for many unhealthy Americans for whom conventional methods of health promotion have been less than favorable. As an intentional shift occurs toward equitable health care, it is important to examine unconventional approaches to health promotion.  The concept of Spiritually-guided health risk interceptions (SGHRI) represents such an approach. Spiritually-guided health risk interceptions (SGHRI) provide the impetus-in-action to achieve healthy balance through the integration of spiritual, physical and emotional dimensions of self. As such SGHRI are designed and implemented through spiritually-informed methods with the intention of intercepting risky health behaviors.  Impetus-in-action is the representation of spirituality as the stimulus in motion facilitating the forward movement toward healthy behaviors and outcomes.  In considering this, how can health care personnel utilize spirituality to influence health in varied populations? What is the affiliation between one’s spirituality and health care practices? Are there salient features, centered on core spiritual practices which determine decisions, explain actions, and depict health outcomes?  Central ideologies of spirituality provide a viable platform upon which health promotional activities can be sponsored, learned and maintained.  By combining the two, the health educator may be able to effectively tap into motivating factors that can contribute to improved health care practices and outcomes that last a lifetime. Using spirituality as a foundation for the proposed study the investigator will examine the influence of a spiritually-guided health risk intervention on breast self-care attitudes in Afro-Caribbean women. It is hoped that the findings of the study will generate knowledge pertaining to ways in which SGHRI may be used to (a) create environments that value spiritual health; and (b) actualize interventions that utilize the concept of spirituality to ameliorate the potentiation of risky health behaviors.