AUTHOR: Ikali Karvinen
Danubius, XXXII- Supliment, Galati, 2014, pp. 181-188.
Abstract
Finland is a Nordic country with strong Protestant Christian roots. It has been a country for emigration for decades but just recently there have been a growing number of people with other than the western background migrating to Finland. The migration to Finland affects various parts of the society, including health care. While a significant number of people indicates that religion or spiritual life is an important part of their lives, and it cannot be neglected in the health care. There are several existing Spiritual history tools for clinical practice. Still, a challenge with the existing one is the language barrier. Another issue is the cultural sensitivity of spiritual and religious issues. This article discus shortly the Opening-model (AVAUS-malli) which was developed in the Finnish social and health care settings to equip health professionals with the tools needed to assess the spiritual needs and the history of the patients.