Addressing Older Adults' Spiritual Needs in Health Care Settings: An Analysis of Inpatient Hospital Satisfaction Data

As part of the accreditation process for most hospitals, the Joint Commission requires the administration of a spiritual assessment to address clients' spiritual needs. This study employed a secondary data analysis to determine the relationship between addressing spiritual needs and overall perceptions of satisfaction with care. The sample consisted of 4,112 adults aged 65 years and older who were consecutively discharged during a 12-month period (July 2007 through June 2008) from hospitals in three geographically diverse regions of the United States: California, Texas, and New England. As hypothesized, higher levels of satisfaction with the degree to which clients' spiritual needs were addressed predicted higher levels of overall client satisfaction. The results highlight the importance of conducting spiritual assessments to ensure clients' spiritual needs are addressed. Suggestions for future research are identified.