Abstract
Background: In Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the nursing workforce are foreigners, little is known about perceptions of spirituality and spiritual caregiving among foreign nurses who provide nursing care to patients with varied spiritual and religious beliefs. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the spirituality and spiritual care competence and its predictors among expatriate Christian nurses in Saudi Arabia, who provide care for Muslim patients. Methods: A convenience sample of 302 nurses was surveyed in this descriptive cross-sectional study using the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale and the Spiritual Care Competence Scale. Results: Results revealed high values on three domains, namely, spiritual care, personal care, and existential spirituality. The majority of the respondents reported competence in all six subscales of spiritual care. The participants’ age, educational level, perception of existential spirituality, and personal care were found to be relevant predictors of their spiritual care competence. Conclusions: The findings suggest that existential spirituality and personal care dimensions of Christian nurses’ spirituality and spiritual care perceptions play critical roles in the provision of competent spiritual care to Muslim patients.
Highlights
Various elements of nursing care are well understood and developed; spiritual care has yet to be completely elucidated
The surveyed nurses were Christians, they perceived themselves to be competent in delivering spiritual care for Muslim patients
Their age, educational level, perception of existential spirituality, and personal care were found to be important factors that influenced their provision of spiritual care
Summary
Various elements of nursing care are well understood and developed; spiritual care has yet to be completely elucidated. Spirituality is a known phenomenon, spiritual care in other settings may be different due to a culture-specific aspect, including nurses’ religious and spiritual approaches in a clinical environment (Schultz et al 2014). Many scholars have recommended an increase in studies about nursing spiritual care in different settings to develop a clearer understanding about this phenomenon (Bowers and Rieg 2014; Labrague et al 2016; Cruz et al 2016a, 2016b). In Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the nursing workforce are foreigners, little is known about perceptions of spirituality and spiritual caregiving among foreign nurses who provide nursing care to patients with varied spiritual and religious beliefs. This study was conducted to investigate the spirituality and spiritual care competence and its predictors among expatriate Christian nurses in Saudi Arabia, who provide care for Muslim patients
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