A review of the international medical literature was undertaken on the role of spirituality in the discipline of psychiatry, within the context that a perceived change is taking place in the health care environment in South Africa. Revitalized interest in spirituality was evident from the literature partly because Western societies have, through the migration of people, become more heterogeneous in recent years. The literature concurred that spirituality must be incorporated into the current approach to the practice and training of psychiatry, but within the professional scope of the discipline, while all faith traditions and belief systems should be regarded equally. Beyond South Africa, it is envisaged that the review has implications for the practice of psychiatry in Africa.
Due to the extent of their physical disabilities requiring full-time nursing care, discharge and placement back in the community remained a rare option for most users in the study group.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.