Running head: SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT PLAN

1
Your name:
Laura Ellis

Date:
October 16, 2016

Community or population of interest:

In conjunction with a faith community nurse at St. Lukes Lutheran Church, I will
help to conduct a grief-counseling group and perform individual home visits for
parishioners in the grief-counseling group. The population of interest is church
parishioners who are participating in a grief-counseling group hosted by a faith
community nurse. Individuals experiencing grief could be from any walk of life so it
is important for the faith community nurse to assess the needs of the grieving
individual. Although grief is most commonly referred to in terms of death,
individuals can also experience grief over other life-altering events, such as divorce,
losing a job, or relocating (onlyhealth.com). According to Julius Sim in Quality of
Life Research, it is estimated that 10-15% of bereaved individuals will suffer from
complicated grief (2014, p. 1211).
Review of literature and health outcomes data:
The top three health concerns for this population are complicated grief, depression and
anxiety, and increased risk for physical complications such as heart disease and
hypertension. The concern for those that are grieving from any number of events or
circumstances could potentially suffer from physical, mental, and emotional strain. Research
from recent studies suggests that grief counseling and faith community nurses can make a
positive impact on how individuals cope and handle grief.
The following quotes from scholarly articles provide a review of current literature related to
the topic of grief and faith community nursing.
Calming technique and crisis intervention were coupled with increased hope. Participants
noted that spiritual counseling yielded holistic well-being (Shores, 2014, p. 303)
The faith community thus can serve as a setting for health care, education, and spiritual
support while providing services for disadvantaged, minority, or underserved individuals and
families. This is important for nursing practice, education, and research since the faith community is growing as a setting for health care delivery (Shores, 2011). (Shores, 2014, p.
304)
A faith community member indicated that education by the nurse led to a better
understanding of the whole person and improved physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
(Shores, 2014, p. 304)

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT PLAN

Specific modalities that can be utilized by the Faith Community Nurse to support
maintenance of an individuals psychological well-being during life changes include
providing social support or linkages to social support networks, facilitating health education,
engaging in spiritual counseling, and providing referrals. In seeking to address these

domains, Faith Community Nurses support the unique physical, social, and spiritual
needs of a faith community as needs arise during key life transitions. (Anaebere,
2012, p. 338)
Because Faith Community Nurses engage in routine interactions with their
congregations, they will have a better understanding of which services will be most
readily used by their populations. (Anaebere, 2012, p. 339)
Within their nursing role, Faith Community Nurses act as educators and offer health
education to their congregation related to health and human services, mental
health services, and other educational support. (Anaebrere, 2012, p. 339)
Death brings the loss of social and family roles and shared activities. Affective
manifes- tations of grief involve despair, anxiety, anger, and loneliness. Behavioral
symptoms include agitation, fiitigue. crying, and withdrawal.(Waldrop, 2007, p.198)

Your selected health concern focus:

How individuals handle grief can have a large impact on a persons overall health.
Grief is a reaction to a significant loss that can profoundly affect all aspects of life
and capacity to function well (Sim, 2014, p. 1211). It is important to assist those
who are grieving to have coping mechanisms and emotional outlets necessary for
dealing with their grief. The faith community nurse serves as both a resource and an
educator when it comes to coping with grief.
Three possible nursing interventions:
-Educate group members on appropriate coping mechanisms.
A faith community member indicated that education by the nurse led to a better
understanding of the whole person and improved physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
(Shores, 2014, p. 304)

-Facilitate group discussions about the grieving process.

Because Faith Community Nurses engage in routine interactions with their congregations,
they will have a better understanding of which services will be most readily used by their
populations. (Anaebere, 2012, p. 339)

-Facilitate group devotionals focusing on scripture that provides guidance in a time

of grief.
According to one faith community nurse, the intervention of bibliotherapy yielded great
personal insights and spiritual growth. Bibliotherapy is defined by Bulecheck et al. (2008) as
the therapeutic use of literature to express feelings, to assist with problem solving and

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT PLAN

coping, and to develop insight. (Shores, 2014, p. 304)

Your selected nursing intervention:

Educate group members on appropriate coping mechanisms for grief.
After educating group members on coping mechanisms, individuals will be able to
identify which stage of grief they are currently experiencing. Group members will
also be able to identify which coping strategies that they are using have been the
most effective for them.

Brief plan for conducting nursing intervention:

Initially I would introduce some appropriate coping strategies in the group setting. It
is important to note that each individual grieves differently and some strategies
may be more effective for some than others.
In the group setting I will discuss the 5 stages of grief and then provide example
strategies for each stage. Some coping strategies that will be discussed include
creative expression, discussion with others, drawing on faith for support, music
therapy, and identifying emotional triggers.
As group members request one on one visits we can discuss how they are feeling,
what strategies they are using to cope, and which strategies have been most
effective for the individual.
References
Allender, Judith Ann., Kristine D. Warner, Cherie L. Rector, and Judith Ann. Allender.
Community and Public Health Nursing: Promoting the Public's Health. Philadelphia:
Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health, 2014.
Anaebere, Ann Kiki, and Carol Rose Delilly. "Faith Community Nursing: Supporting
Mental Health during Life Transitions." Issues in Mental Health Nursing 33, no. 5
(2012): 337-39. doi:10.3109/01612840.2011.631164.
Shores, C. I. (2014). Spiritual Interventions and the Impact of a Faith Community
Nursing Program. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 35(4), 299-305.

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT PLAN

doi:10.3109/01612840.2014.889785
Sim, J., Machin, L., & Bartlam, B. (2014, May). Identifying vulnerability in grief:
Psychometric properties of the Adult Attitude to Grief Scale. Quality of Life
Research, 23, 1211-1220. doi:10.1007/s11136-013-0551-1
Waldrop, D. P. (2007). Caregiver Grief in Terminal Illness and Bereavement: A MixedMethods Study. Health & Social Work, 32(3), 197-206. doi:10.1093/hsw/32.3.197