Culturally Competent Spiritual Care during Health Disasters and Emergencies

This innovative book draws together a wide range of multidisciplinary research to illuminate how the helping professions can provide person-centred spiritual care to their patients in a health emergency, making use of new digital technologies alongside more established modes of care.

Drawing on primary research undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, and including vignettes from practitioners around the world, this book explores:

• the need for culturally competent spiritual care
• different perspectives on spirituality from philosophy and religion, including posthumanist theories
• the necessity for culturally competent and compassionate spiritual care in health settings, during health disasters and emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic
• the development of a strategy for delivering culturally competent spiritual care in circumstances of major health disasters and the training of staff
• ethics and moral injury, and equality diversity and inclusion in the provision of spiritual care
• opinions and lived experiences from health, social, and pastoral care professionals about spiritual care in health settings
• the use of new digital and artificially intelligent technologies to provide spiritual care during the COVID-19 pandemic and their potential use in upcoming health disasters

Culturally Competent Spiritual Care during Health Disasters and Emergencies is an important contribution to the literatures on spiritual care, disaster healthcare, culturally competent healthcare, and technology in healthcare. It is ideal for researchers and practitioners within health and social care, and pastoral care.