Table 1.

Examples of spiritual assessment interview questions and tools

Open-ended questions	What is helping you to cope? What do you see as the purpose of your life now, given that your body isn’t allowing you to do all you used to do? What hopes and dreams do you have for your future? For your family? What do you rely on during times of illness? Is faith/religion/spirituality important to you in your illness? Tell me about a time during your life where you faced a huge challenge. What got you through? Is that resource available to you now? What comforts are more satisfying for you now? Do you have someone to talk to about religious matters?  Would you like to explore religious matters with someone? Are you at peace? How important is spirituality or religion to you? What is your understanding of where things stand now with your illness? What are your hopes (your expectations, your fears) for the future? As you think about the future, what is most important to you?
FICA	The FICA tool stands for Faith, Import or Influence, Community and Address/Action in Care. Examples of the questions to use with this tool are: What spiritual beliefs are important to you now? What importance does your faith or belief have in your life? Are you part of a spiritual or religious community? How would you like me to integrate or address these issues in your care?
SPIRIT	The SPIRIT tool stands for Spiritual belief system, Personal spirituality, Integration with a spiritual community, Ritualized practices and restrictions, Implications for medical care and Terminal events planning. This tool is used to inquire about formal religious affiliation and the importance of religion in daily life. In addition, this tool is used to learn about forbidden areas of care/practice and to plan for end-of-life care.
HOPE	The HOPE tool helps identify the patient’s sources of Hope, Organized religion, Personal spirituality or spiritual practices, Effects on medical care and/or end-of-life issues. Examples of questions that could be used with this tool are: What do you hold on to during difficult times? What in your life gives you internal support? Do you consider yourself part of an organized religion? Do you have any personal spirituality practices independent of organized religion? Has being sick affected your ability to do the things that usually help you spiritually?
FACT	The FACT tool helps assess for the patient’s Faith, Availability of what he or she needs now, whether those spiritual beliefs helps the patient Cope or serves as a Comfort, and how the health care team in their Treatment can help support the patient spiritually.
MVAST	MVAST includes Moral authority, Vocational, Aesthetic, Social, and Transcendent. This tool helps the health care provider assess what guides the patient in his/her determination of right and wrong, what mission they feel passionate about, how they express their creativity, what faith community they feel they belong to, and whether they believe in a sacred being or order.
BELIEF	Belief system, Ethics or values, Lifestyle, Involvement in spiritual community, Education, Future events of spiritual significance. This tool helps assess spiritual belief, values, rules of life, spiritual habits including those that pertain to diet, connection to faith community including current religious education or upcoming religious ceremonies.
SNAP	Spiritual Needs Assessment is a tool that probes a patient’s spiritual, psychological, and religious needs. The spiritual realm may include finding meaning, coping with suffering and dying and death, and finding peace of mind. Psychological needs may include getting in touch with other patients with similar illnesses or finding ways to relax or cope with stress, feelings of sadness, worries about his/her family, and identifying a means to share thoughts and feelings with those with whom they are close. Religious needs may include visits from clergy, members of their faith community, or the hospital chaplain, as well as religious rituals such as chants, prayers, or religious texts.