Nurses’ Perspectives On Spiritual Care And Its Connection To Healing

Abstract

A holistic centered approach to nursing emphasizes the importance of involving the individual’s psychological health, physical well-being and spirituality. Specifically, spiritual care is commonly overlooked by nurses during the care of their patients. Excluding a patient’s spirituality can impact their recovery and inhibit their return to full health. The purpose of this study is to identify nurses’ perceptions of spiritual care and its connection to healing. Based upon the HOPE and FICA spiritual assessment tools, a survey was sent to nursing faculty at a state university which asked them to reflect on their perceptions of spirituality and healing. The response rate was 38%. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were applied, making this a mixed study. Themes were identified through the application of thematic analysis. The most common theme was the perception that spiritual care is acknowledging and respecting a patient’s beliefs and religious practices when providing care. The next predominant themes were the need to work with the patient and/or their families to provide care in line with their beliefs and the importance of addressing the individual holistically. Results also revealed that while a majority of nurses practiced spiritual care and related it to healing, they did not inquire how they could meet their patients’ spiritual needs while providing care. A unifying definition of spiritual care among nurses was not identified. These findings show that nurses do not include patients and families in providing for their spiritual needs. As a result of this, patients are not receiving the personalized holistic care necessary for healing.