Abstract
Research suggests that African Americans are disproportionately likely to have their spiritual needs ignored in hospitals. To help address this disparity, the present study developed and tested a model for addressing the spiritual needs of hospitalized African Americans. Structural equation modeling was used with a sample of older African American inpatients (N = 2,217) consecutively discharged over a 12-month period from hospitals from four geographic regions. As hypothesized, addressing spiritual needs had a positive effect on overall satisfaction with service provision. The relationship between spiritual needs and satisfaction was fully mediated by five variables: nursing, the discharge process, physicians, visitors, and room quality.
FUNDING
Preparation of this article was supported by a grant from the John A. Hartford Foundation.