Addressing Spiritual and Religious Influences in Care Delivery

Purpose: The impact of spiritual and religious factors on health and care delivery has been identified in case management field research. The purpose of this article is to examine how case managers, taking a holistic, patient-centered approach, are required under professional and ethical standards to address the spiritual and religious influences that may impact the individual's health, care choices, and care delivery. Primary Practice Settings: Case managers across health or human services must be able to identify and address the spiritual and/or religious factors that may influence a care plan and care delivery. This includes case managers in acute care, primary care, workers' compensation, hospice, mental health counseling, and other practice settings. Regardless of their professional discipline, specialization, or practice setting, case managers must ensure that the voice of the individual is heard and that each person receives the support that is most relevant and meaningful. Implementations for Case Management Practice: The impact of spiritual and religious factors on health and care delivery has been identified in case management field research, known as role and function studies, which are conducted every 5 years, and which set the blueprint for the Certified Case Manager (CCM) certification examination. The most recent role and function study affirmed the knowledge domain of multicultural, spiritual, and religious factors that may affect the health status of the individual receiving case management services. Essential activities of case management include identifying multicultural, spiritual, and religious factors that may affect the client's health status and incorporating the effects of the client's multicultural, spiritual, and religious factors in the development of the plan of care and service delivery (H. Tahan, A. Watson, & P. Sminkey, 2016). To demonstrate competency in the required knowledge domain and essential activities, case managers must be able to identify and address the spiritual and/or religious factors that may influence a care plan and care delivery.