Experience Of Spiritual Care Research Articles

Spiritual Care through the Lens of Portuguese Palliative Care Professionals: A Qualitative Thematic Analysis.

Providing spiritual care is paramount to patient-centered care. Despite the growing body of data and its recognized importance in palliative care, spiritual care continues to be the least advanced and most overlooked aspect. This study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of spiritual care from the perspective of PC professionals and identify their strategies to address spiritual care issues. Data were collected through semi-structured personal interviews and managed using WebQDA software (Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal). All data were analyzed using thematic content analysis, as recommended by Clark and Braun. The study included 15 palliative care professionals with a mean age of 38.51 [SD = 5.71] years. Most participants identified as lacking specific training in spiritual care. Thematic analysis spawned three main themes: (1) spiritual care as key to palliative care, (2) floating between "shadows" and "light" in providing spiritual care, and (3) strategies for competent and spiritual-centered care. Spiritual care was considered challenging by its very nature and given the individual, relational, and organizational constraints lived by professionals working in palliative care. With support from healthcare institutions, spiritual care can and should become a defining feature of the type, nature, and quality of palliative care provision. Care providers should be sensitive to spiritual needs and highly skilled and capable of an in-the-moment approach to respond to these needs. Further research on educating and training in spiritual care competence is a priority.

Spiritual care experiences of nurses working in intensive care units: A qualitative study.

Most nurses working in intensive care units are unprepared to provide spiritual care to patients and they lack the competence and skills to provide spiritual care. Lack of moral evaluation of patients has negative effects on the patient. Spiritual care given to patients has effects on patient-nurse communication, general condition of the patient, and the quality of care. This study was conducted to find out the spiritual care experiences of nurses working in intensive care units. A qualitative descriptive design was used. The study was carried out with 14 nurses who were working in the intensive care units of a university hospital in eastern Turkey between May and July 2022. Two forms were created by the researcher according to the purpose of the study and the population. Inductive thematic analysis was used to evaluate the data. Ethics committee approval was obtained. Ten of the nurses were women. Their ages were between 25 and 47 years, their working years ranged between 2 and 28 years, and their weekly working hours ranged between 40 to 56 hours. As a result of the thematic analysis, six themes and 18 sub-themes were determined: The themes determined are (1) Definition of spiritual care (2) Time of spiritual care, (3) Benefits of spiritual care, (4) Spiritual care practices, (5) Obstacles in providing spiritual care. Providing spiritual care to patients in intensive care is a very important experience for nurses. Understanding spiritual care, recognizing its importance, and including it in nursing practice have a central significance. Spiritual care provided in nursing profession is as important as physical care, and supporting patients in intensive care is at the heart of providing the best holistic care.

A qualitative hermeneutical understanding of spiritual care in old age when living in a nursing home: The residents' voices.

To explore and gain a broader understanding of residents' viewpoints and experiences of spiritual care when living in a nursing home. A qualitative hermeneutical interview study inspired by Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. Thirty-eight individual interviews of 14 male and 24 female residents; of these, 24 had a dementia diagnosis. The setting was one large Norwegian nursing home providing long-term care. FACIT-Sp-12 was used as a guide for the interview, in addition to two open-ended questions about thriving and spiritual care. The older residents' voices portray a broad and diverse understanding of spiritual care, and four themes emerged: (1) Spiritual at-homeness, (2) Spiritual awareness, (3) Philosophy of life and (4) Interconnectedness. Accepting one's life situation in a nursing home can foster a feeling of belonging, leading to feeling more at-home. Spiritual well-being, including finding purpose, spiritual awareness and beliefs, was found to be interconnected with spiritual at-homeness in the nursing home. This study provides insights into older nursing home residents' viewpoints on spiritual care, including persons living with dementia. The study addressed the limited evidence regarding how older residents themselves experience and express spiritual care. Listening to older nursing home residents' voices provides a unique contribution to the research field. As several individuals with dementia contributed to the findings, this study mirrors the current population of residents in nursing homes. The findings may inform healthcare provision and policymakers and impact upon spiritual care in the field of older people nursing and dementia care services. The COREQ guideline. Participation through interviews of nursing home residents.

Factors affecting spiritual care competency of mental health nurses: a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study

BackgroundAlthough providing spiritual care is an important part of holistic nursing care for psychiatric patients, factors associated with spiritual care competency in mental health nurses remain unclear. The aim of our study was to explore a possible association of personal and external factors with spiritual care competency in mental health nurses.MethodsThis prospective questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted by inviting mental health nurses from mental health hospitals and tertiary referral centers. Personality traits and spiritual care competency were assessed by using [1] “big-five Mini-Markers” questionnaire, and [2] spiritual care competency scale, respectively. From the 250 mental health nurses being invited, 239 valid questionnaires were valid for final analysis. Statistical analyses including descriptive statistics, ANOVAs, t-tests, and hierarchical multiple regression models were used to investigate the associations between personal/external factors and their spiritual care competency in mental health nurses.ResultsThe mean age of the 239 participants was 35.96 ± 8.11 and the mean years of working experience was 9.41 ± 7.06. Over 90% of them had no experience of providing spiritual care. There were significant positive correlations of spiritual care competency with the experience of delivering spiritual care (p < 0.001), previous participation in spiritual care education programs (p = 0.045), a longer working experience (p = 0.014), and a higher education level (postgraduate vs. college, p = 0.006), as well as the personality components of “Conscientiousness” (p < 0.001), “Agreeableness” (p < 0.001), “Extraversion” (p = 0.03), and “Openness/Intellect” (p < 0.001).ConclusionsBoth personal and external factors may be related to the self-perception of spiritual care competency among mental health nurses. These findings may help mental health nurses understand the possible positive and negative associations of their personality components with their spiritual care abilities. Moreover, our identification of the positive impacts of educational programs and previous experience of spiritual care on spiritual care competency may underscore the importance of tailoring appropriate training programs to cater for the individual needs of mental health nurses.

“My Soul is Empty...”: The Intensive Care Patients’ and Their Family Members’ Experience of Spiritual Care

Introduction: The intensive care environment may seem intimidating, too focused on the patient survival and causing stress to the patients and the family members. As more patients survive critical illnesses, experts began to shift treatment focus towards survivorships. Based on previous findings, critically ill patients of the intensive care unit (ICU) need psycho-emotional and spiritual care. In addition, these cares are also vital for their family members. This study was conducted to explore patients’ and family members experience in receiving spiritual care in the ICU. Methods: Interviews with patients and their family members were conducted in the ICUs of three government hospitals in Johor. Data from the interviews were recorded, anonymised, and transcribed. Codes and themes were generated using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. Results: A total of 25 patients and family members were included in this study. The central theme was Faith-based Care. Based on the narratives of the participant’s experience, nine categories of spiritual needs were identified emerging through four themes: 1) Having Faith, 2) Giving-receiving All, 3) Being There, and 4) Letting Go. Conclusion: The intensive care patients and their family members valued the provision of spiritual care from ICU clinicians. Their experience of spiritual care in the ICU can be improved with a model of ICU spirituality. Further research is needed to seek the clinicians’ view on spirituality and to further improve its provision in the ICU settings.

An Intensive Care Nurse Narrative of Spiritual Care During COVID-19

Introduction: The intensive care management during the pandemic of COVID-19 is highly critical. The provision of spiritual care to the patients and their family members is important but challenging to be accomplished during this time. This article attempts to provide a view of an intensive care nurse’s experience of spiritual care during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Interview was conducted with a nurse who worked in an intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary government hospital in Malaysia. It is a part of a larger qualitative study investigating the perceptions of ICU clinicians in providing spiritual care in the ICU. A thematic analysis was utilized in identifying emergent themes that would be significant in context of intensive care COVID-19 management. Results: There were two emergent themes that were identified from the nurse’s reflection – Keeping faith, and Blessed outcomes.Conclusion: This reflective account of a nurse providing spiritual care in the ICU may give insights for a better COVID-19 management. Further research is needed to explore the use of reflective practice in the spiritual care education and training. Further studies should also include the experience of the patients, the families as well as the professionals in the ICU to develop a concise model of spirituality and spiritual care in the ICU context, particularly during the pandemic of COVID-19.

Spiritual care in Australian general practice nursing: An interpretive descriptive study.

Spiritual care as an aspect of holistic or person-centered care has been well documented. Studies on spirituality and spiritual care in nursing have taken place in various countries and contexts. Studies about spiritual care from the nurse perspective in the primary healthcare setting of Australian General Practice are not evident. Using an interpretive description study design, data about views on spirituality, spiritual care experiences, and descriptions about any spiritual care provided were collected from eight practice nurses. Four themes were drawn from the findings: the personal importance of spirituality and spiritual care to nurses and patients, spiritual care as an aspect of person-centered care, spiritual care practices, and barriers and enablers to addressing spiritual needs. Participants identified that practice nurses require improved education about spirituality to adequately address spiritual needs as expressed by patients, as well as the tools to be able to provide spiritual care. They also identified that documentation templates used in general practice should include prompts to address spiritual and/or religious needs.

Thai Nurses' Experiences of Spiritual Care for Older Adults at End of Life.

Most Thai registered nurses who provide end-of-life care emphasize the physical dimension of care rather than spiritual care. There is a need to explore the experiences of Thai nurses who provide spiritual care. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of Thai palliative care nurses providing spiritual care for older adults at the end of life. A descriptive qualitative research design was used. The 8 participants were Thai nurses with experience of palliative care in hospitals in the central, northeastern, northern, and southern regions of Thailand. A focus group discussion was used for data collection. Content analysis was used to analyze data. Five themes were as follows: (1) spiritual care was searching for meaning in patients' lives, (2) spiritual self-preparation of nurses for making sense and connecting to patients' spirituality, (3) caring for patients' spiritual needs by recognizing psychological and religious beliefs, (4) facilitating ways to ease patients' suffering, and (5) assuring confidence of patients and relatives for receiving the best care. These findings that should be included in training registered nurses are honoring the patients' lives, addressing spiritual needs to decrease patients' suffering, and enhancing patients' perceptions of care through spiritual self-preparation and spiritual concern of nurses.

Spiritual care experiences by cancer patients, their family caregivers and healthcare team members in oncology practice settings: A qualitative study

PurposeIntegrating spirituality into the patient care within a healthcare team, increases the ability to provide “holistic care” for cancer patients. The spiritual care experiences of different involved persons can be a guide for future planning. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the spiritual care experiences of hospitalized cancer patients, their family caregivers and healthcare team members in oncology settings. MethodsThis is a descriptive qualitative study which was conducted with 21 participants, who were selected by purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The data were analyzed with conventional content analysis method. ResultsTwo themes of "systematic care" and "caring with paradoxical results" were extracted from the spiritual care experiences of our participants. ConclusionsSpiritual care as professional, comprehensive, collaborative and artistic care should be provided in a multidisciplinary healthcare team for cancer patients. Otherwise, patients may experience deprivation of spiritual services and consequently, spiritual distress.

Nurses' response to spiritual needs of cancer patients.

In this qualitative study, nurses from the United States of America (USA) and Switzerland were asked to recount their spiritual care experiences with cancer patients and their own responses to their patients' spiritual needs. Recent advances in cancer care have highlighted the importance of spirituality and spiritual care as part of quality palliative care from the time of a patient's diagnosis through end of life. Nurses who play an important role in supporting patients, describe their own discomfort when confronting their patients' spiritual needs. A qualitative survey was used to collect narratives of nurses' experiences in responding to spiritual care needs (n=62). The accounts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Nurses identified patients as having spiritual needs and their own experiences in addressing spirituality or religion. Patients sought meaning in their illness, which, they believed, led to disease acceptance. Nurses reported their patients' struggles with challenging disease situations and their own challenges in addressing patients' spirituality/religion. With experience, nurses developed ways of talking with patients about spirituality/religion, which profoundly impacted their own lives and resulted in personal growth. Patients' spirituality was identified by nurses who tried to address patients' spiritual needs drawing on existing resources. For nurses, supporting patients in their spirituality and finding meaning in the disease situation eventually led to disease acceptance.

Understanding the outcomes of spiritual care as experienced by patients

In moving toward professionalising spiritual care in the healthcare system, as an equal partner in whole person care, it has become increasingly important to develop an evidence base for spiritual care interventions, their value and longer-term outcomes for those receiving this care. This study utilised hard copy questionnaires across five Australian general hospitals to investigate patient reported outcomes of in-patient spiritual care. The survey included the Scottish Patient Reported Outcomes Measure (PROM), measures of patient experience and an open-ended question about experience of care. Data indicated a positive correlation between positive experience of spiritual care and a high score on PROM. Qualitative data elaborated on if and how the spiritual care received met patients’ needs, the qualities they valued in the provider of this care and impacts of the care they experienced. Further development of the PROM in a variety of situations is however recommended.

Analysis of Spiritual Care Experiences of Acute-Care Hospital Nurses.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the experiences of acute care hospital nurses' on spiritual care with focus group interviews. Data were collected from 24 nurses recruited from one acute-care hospital in a southern province of Korea. Six focus groups were assembled considering age and religion. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Five categories with 14 sub-categories emerged: 1) ambiguous concept: confusing terms, an additional job; 2) assessment of spiritual care needs: looking for spiritual care needs, not recognizing spiritual care needs; 3) spiritual care practices: active spiritual care, passive spiritual care ; 4) outcomes of spiritual care: comfort of the recipient, comfort of the provider; and 5) barriers to spiritual care: fear of criticism from others, lack of education, lack of time, space constraints, and absence of a recording system. Participants perceived spiritual care as an uncertain concept. Some participants recognized it as a form of nursing care, and others did not. They practiced spiritual care in acute-care settings according to their personal perceptions of spiritual care. Therefore, in order to perform spiritual nursing in acute-care hospitals, it is a priority for nurses to recognize the concept of spiritual nursing accurately. It is also necessary to prepare a hospital environment suitable for the provision of spiritual care.

End of life in acute hospital setting-A systematic review of families' experience of spiritual care.

To systematically review qualitative studies exploring families' experiences of spiritual care at the end of life in acute hospital settings. Although there is a widespread belief that the consideration of spiritual and religious needs is outdated in the context of secularism, from a practical perspective patients and families appear to benefit from spiritual support at the end of life. Six key databases, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Global Health Library, Web of Science and Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), were searched, and three reviewers independently extracted the data and coded them into themes and subthemes. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used as a reporting framework. Five main themes emerged: anticipating needs; honouring the family by honouring the patient; personal connection; lack of sensitivity; and making space for religious and spiritual practices. Families experiencing end-of-life care in acute hospital settings may benefit from spiritual care. While this can also be considered as fundamental care, understanding this through the lenses of spiritual care allows for incorporation of religious and spiritual practices that many seek at this time, irrespective of their faith perspectives. Although hospice care is well established internationally, many families experience end-of-life care in acute hospital settings. Nurses usually get to know families well during this time; however, the demands of the clinical environment place restrictions on family care and perceptions of lack of communication, limited support and/or limited sensitivity can compound families' suffering. Consideration of families' spiritual needs can help to support families during this time. Nurses are ideally placed for this and can anticipate and plan for patient and family needs in this regard, or refer to a specialist, such as the Healthcare Chaplain.

Examining the Distribution of Services: How Hospital Chaplaincy Screens the Religiously Unaffiliated

The proportion of religiously unaffiliated Americans has grown dramatically over the last few decades. Using updated data from the author’s previous study, “Non-religious people's experiences with spiritual care when seriously ill or injured,” 1,040 people expressed a willingness to be interviewed or part of a focus group concerning their spiritual care experiences, indicating significant interest among non-religious patients. Participant candidates self-identified as “religious and affiliated,” “religious and unaffiliated,” “spiritual but not religious,” “neither spiritual nor religious,” “none of the above,” or “other.” Patients in these groups were not offered hospital chaplaincy services evenly: “none of the above” (50%) were most likely to have not been offered chaplain services, and “religious and unaffiliated” (40%) the least. Findings and quotes from the interviews and focus groups help illustrate additional sentiments. These findings are relevant for managers of healthcare chaplaincy services in revising how they screen patients for spiritual care needs.

Talking about spiritual matters: First year nursing students' experiences of an assignment on spiritual conversations

BackgroundSpiritual care is part of holistic nursing. However, nurses have reported that their education does not sufficiently prepare them for spiritual care in practice. Few studies have reported students' perspectives on how they acquire skills and knowledge in spiritual care. AimThe aim of the study was to explore how first year nursing students experienced a compulsory assignment that asked them to carry out a conversation with someone about spiritual aspects of nursing care and to reflect about it in relation to nursing. DesignThe study was a qualitative content analysis of students' reflective logs. MethodsThis research analysed the reflective logs of 385 (76%) first year nursing students from one religious and one secular university in Norway. The logs were written in response to an assignment based on Stoll's assessment guide, which asked them to carry out a conversation about spiritual aspects of nursing care. ResultsAnalysis yielded three main categories that characterised students' experience of this assignment: meeting oneself, beyond one's comfort zone and discovering the other. ConclusionsStudents brought few skills and little experience in spiritual care into their education, and they felt that spiritual care conversations were personal and outside of their comfort zone. It is challenging for nursing education to equip nursing students with the competence in spiritual care necessary to meet the standard set out by the International Council of Nursing.

What Spirituality Means for Patients and Families in Health Care.

This research focuses on the spiritual care experiences of patients and families at a hospital in Australia. Twenty-four patients and 10 family members were interviewed. Results indicate the importance of relatedness: being treated as a person, reminded of your capabilities and conversations about what matters. Maintaining contact with friends and family, sustaining religious and spiritual practices, music therapy and pet therapy were also significant and contact with the natural world and shared activities. The results indicate the importance of spirituality offered through pastoral care, and that all those involved in health care can contribute to the spiritually nurturing environment that reinforces healing.

Patients’ and caregivers’ needs, experiences, preferences and research priorities in spiritual care: A focus group study across nine countries

Background: Spiritual distress is prevalent in advanced disease, but often neglected, resulting in unnecessary suffering. Evidence to inform spiritual care practices in palliative care is limited. Aim: To explore spiritual care needs, experiences, preferences and research priorities in an international sample of patients with life-limiting disease and family caregivers. Design: Focus group study. Setting/participants: Separate patient and caregiver focus groups were conducted at 11 sites in South Africa, Kenya, South Korea, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Finland and Poland. Discussions were transcribed, translated into English and analysed thematically. Results: A total of 74 patients participated: median age 62 years; 53 had cancer; 48 were women. In total, 71 caregivers participated: median age 61 years; 56 were women. Two-thirds of participants were Christian. Five themes are described: patients’ and caregivers’ spiritual concerns, understanding of spirituality and its role in illness, views and experiences of spiritual care, preferences regarding spiritual care, and research priorities. Participants reported wide-ranging spiritual concerns spanning existential, psychological, religious and social domains. Spirituality supported coping, but could also result in framing illness as punishment. Participants emphasised the need for staff competence in spiritual care. Spiritual care was reportedly lacking, primarily due to staff members’ de-prioritisation and lack of time. Patients’ research priorities included understanding the qualities of human connectedness and fostering these skills in staff. Caregivers’ priorities included staff training, assessment, studying impact, and caregiver’s spiritual care needs. Conclusion: To meet patient and caregiver preferences, healthcare providers should be able to address their spiritual concerns. Findings should inform patient- and caregiver-centred spiritual care provision, education and research.

Nurses' comfort level with spiritual assessment: a study among nurses working in diverse healthcare settings.

To gain knowledge about nurses' comfort level in assessing spiritual matters and to learn what questions nurses use in practice related to spiritual assessment. Spirituality is important in holistic nursing care; however, nurses report feeling uncomfortable and ill-prepared to address this domain with patients. Education is reported to impact nurses' ability to engage in spiritual care. This cross-sectional exploratory survey reports on a mixed-method study examining how comfortable nurses are with spiritual assessment. In 2014, a 21-item survey with 10 demographic variables and three open-ended questions were distributed to Norwegian nurses working in diverse care settings with 172 nurse responses (72 % response rate). SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data; thematic analysis examined the open-ended questions. Norwegian nurses reported a high level of comfort with most questions even though spirituality is seen as private. Nurses with some preparation or experience in spiritual care were most comfortable assessing spirituality. Statistically significant correlations were found between the nurses' comfort level with spiritual assessment and their preparedness and sense of the importance of spiritual assessment. How well-prepared nurses felt was related to years of experience, degree of spirituality and religiosity, and importance of spiritual assessment. Many nurses are poorly prepared for spiritual assessment and care among patients in diverse care settings; educational preparation increases their comfort level with facilitating such care. Nurses who feel well prepared with spirituality feel more comfortable with the spiritual domain. By fostering a culture where patients' spirituality is discussed and reflected upon in everyday practice and in continued education, nurses' sense of preparedness, and thus their level of comfort, can increase. Clinical supervision and interprofessional collaboration with hospital chaplains and/or other spiritual leaders can facilitate tailor spiritual assessment of patients based on patient concerns and view of life.

C10-B Towards a Global and Culturally Sensitive Understanding of Spiritual Care: An International Study of Patients’ and Family Members’ Views and Experiences of Spiritual Care Across 9 Countries

C10-B Towards a Global and Culturally Sensitive Understanding of Spiritual Care: An International Study of Patients’ and Family Members’ Views and Experiences of Spiritual Care Across 9 Countries

Exploring Nurse Communication About Spirituality.

Although spiritual care is considered one of the pillars of palliative care, many health-care providers never receive formal training on how to communicate about spirituality with patients and families. The aim of this study was to explore the spiritual care experiences of oncology nurses in order to learn more about patient needs and nurse responses. A survey was circulated at a communication training course for oncology nurses in June 2015. Nurses recalled a care experience that included the initiation of a spiritual care topic and their response to the patient/family. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Nurses reported that communication about spirituality was primarily initiated by patients, rather than family members, and spiritual topics commonly emerged during the end of life or when patients experienced spiritual distress. Nurses' experiences highlighted the positive impact spiritual conversations had on the quality of patient care and its benefit to families. Spiritual communication was described as an important nursing role at the end of patients' lives, and nonverbal communication, listening, and discussing patients' emotions were emphasized as important and effective nurse communication skills during spiritual care conversations. Approximately one-third of nurses in the sample reported sharing their own personal spiritual or religious backgrounds with patients, and they reported that these sharing experiences strengthened their own faith. It is evident that patients want to discuss spiritual topics during care. Study findings illustrate the need to develop a spiritual communication curriculum and provide spiritual care communication training to clinicians.