| This national study explored the professional attitudes and behaviors of gerontological social workers toward the use of spiritual interventions in practice. A random sample of social workers registered with two national gerontological associations was surveyed anonymously using a cross-sectional, exploratory design. Participants were predominantly Caucasian, Christian, female MSW's (Masters in Social Work) from 42 states and Washington, DC.;Respondents as a whole consider having a knowledge of different faiths to be important (95.0%), religion and spirituality as within the scope of social work practice (93.6%), and spirituality as a fundamental dimension of human living (92.0%). Spiritual interventions most commonly used in gerontological practice include helping aging clients to reflect on losses (97.3%), gathering spiritual information (94.6%), and helping clients consider helpful spiritual support systems (91.7%). Almost 70% of respondents reported little or no presentation of spiritual issues in their social work education. Personal spiritual beliefs correlated weakly and positively with the use of spiritual interventions in practice, but it was ethical decision-making about which spiritual interventions were appropriate to use in social work practice that proved predictive, explaining 53% of variance in a regression analysis.;Implications for social work practice and education include the need for religion and spirituality to be addressed as a component of holistic assessment for the aging client, as for all clients. The literature reports that patients/clients want professionals to ask about client spirituality (Maugans & Wadland, 1991; Oyama & Koenig, 1998); CSWE (2001; 2002) and NASW (2001) now mandate inclusion of religion and spirituality into education and practice. Critical thinking, ethical decision-making, cultural competence, and values' clarification need to be applied to religion/spirituality as it pertains to the aging client and clients at every stage of the lifespan, and also as it pertains to the professional. Overall, the study provides national information on spiritual attitudes and interventions in current gerontological social work. |
