This new series is directed to healthcare professionals who increasingly need information on holistic approaches to chronic illness in response to the growing demand from patients. Managed care has deferred responsibility for initial diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions to primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals. The University of California's Institute for Health and Aging predicts that by 2020, 134 million Americans will have some form of chronic condition that will cause personal limitations or disabilities. Only about 33% of these patients will be "elderly". This book describes a method of spirituality that is independent of any religious affiliation and informs the clinican how to apply spirituality to help in the management of chronic illness. The authors, a physician and a chaplain, describe both spirituality and chronic illness. Each spiritual theme can benefit both the patient and healthcare provider as they partner for healing. The book provides a simple, universal definition of spirituality focusing on the quality of relationships between patients and their higher powers. Bullet points at the end of chapters provide ideas for using each principle to improve clinical practice and the 12 spiritual principles, with their origins in the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, provide a practical and successful model for improving quality of life.
