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Abstract
Holistic patient assessment is used in nursing to inform the nursing process and provide the foundations of patient care. Through holistic assessment, therapeutic communication, and the ongoing collection of objective and subjective data, nurses are able to provide improved personcentred care to patients. A holistic approach acknowledges and addresses the physiological, psychological, sociological, developmental, spiritual and cultural needs of the patient. This article briefly explores the importance of the developmental, spiritual and cultural aspects of holistic assessment and how these can be incorporated into the nursing process. The leadership role of nurses in achieving holistic care of patients, patient safety and positive patient outcomes is also discussed.
The crucial role of holistic assessment in nursing care
Patient assessment is an important nursing skill and provides the foundations for both initial and ongoing patient care. A comprehensive, holistic assessment is the first step of the nursing process and the assessment informs decisions on nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation (Luxford 2012). It is a vital step, as the information gathered during the assessment determines the initial phases of nursing care (Luxford 2012). There are six aspects of holistic assessment; physiological, psychological, sociological, developmental, spiritual and cultural and the assessment stage of the process is a data-gathering phase, where the nurse collects both subjective and objective data from the patient and when appropriate, their family (Luxford 2012). This essay will discuss the overall importance of holistic health assessment and specifically explore the assessment of patient's developmental, spiritual and cultural needs and how nurses incorporate those needs into a person-centred approach to holistic nursing care.
Holistic assessment can be used to assess either individual or family health care needs depending on the circumstances. The nursing process has five stages; assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation, and has been used in Australia since the 1980's providing a universal, systematic approach to nursing care (Luxford 2012). The nursing process supports a coordinated approach to health care with a focus on optimum patient outcomes, patient safety and evidence-based practice (Luxford 2012). The first and arguably most important phase begins with an assessment of the biopsychosocial and spiritual aspects of the patient's life and the impact these may have on patient recovery and, in specific settings such as in...