This study utilises a hermeneutical phenomenological framework to explore the lived experience of losing a child and how this experience may be understood theologically, with a view to exploring the delivery of spiritual care to the bereaved. This three dimensional approach takes seriously the voices of the bereaved as they influence the move towards a deeper understanding of theology, spiritual care and the unique role of the hospital chaplain. To explore the lived experience, unstructured interviews were carried out with parents and grandparents in five bereaved families following the death of a child. This included 5 mothers, 3 fathers, 5 grandmothers and 4 grandfathers. The participants were identified and recruited because of their experience of the death of a child in the family, had some concept of God and had used the chaplaincy service. They were interviewed as married couples or as individuals if there were no partners taking part. There were ten interviews conducted during the first 6 months of the research and contact approved for a 5 year period should this be necessary. Gadamer's philosophy of interpretation was essential to this process as the research involved an in-depth, thematic and hermeneutical analysis of the interviews. This analysis produced three key themes: hope and struggle with God, a new experience of community and a changed relationship with the child. The themes were then viewed from a theological perspective and the insights gained were the basis for exploring the delivery of spiritual care in NHS Scotland. The findings offer new insights into the delivery of spiritual care, key amongst the findings being: • Chaplains are not specialists in spiritual care when defined as separate from religious care. • Chaplains are specialists in theology and the language of faith where developing a ‘critical theological tool box' is essential. • Chaplains are specialists in supporting people to personally engage with the questio Chaplains are specialists in supporting people to personally engage with the question of life, giving them permission to move outside the ‘traditional box' of religion. The findings of this research will hopefully challenge and inspire chaplains to review the meaning of spiritual care and assert the unique and essential place they have within NHS Scotland.

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007.

Univ., Diss.--Nijmegen, 2006.

Submitted in fulfillment of requirements for the Degree of Master of Health Sciences: Nursing, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Introduction Through centuries the birth of a baby has been considered as a deeply felt spiritual experience. Childbirth is not merely a physiological experience; it also embraces social, emotional, psychological, spiritual and religious aspects. In most Western societies the sacred moment of birth dissipates within the context of a pressured hospital environment. Whilst literature and empirical research has proliferated on midwifery very little has been done to explore how women experience childbirth personally and more importantly how spirituality interfaces within the context of the childbirth experience and midwifery care. There is a growing body of literature on spiritually sensitive care. However, there remained a need to inquire about mother’s personal experience and how spirituality interfaces with the childbirth experience in the hospital context. Problem statement Whilst empirical research in the field of midwifery, has grown, research pertaining to the spiritual aspects related to women’s diverse spiritual needs during childbirth is sparse (Crowther and Hall 2015). Furthermore little attention has been paid to issues relating to how women experienced childbirth in the public sector, and how religion and spirituality influence and impact on childbirth. It is against this background that the current study was conceived. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experience of childbirth amongst women from diverse spiritual or religious backgrounds viz. Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion and Hinduism, at public hospitals in the uMgungundlovu District of KwaZulu-Natal. Methodology A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study design was used. A total sample of twenty-two postnatal mothers from the following common spiritual backgrounds in South Africa viz. Christianity, Islam, African Traditional Religion and Hinduism were purposively chosen. Data was collected until saturation. Participants were selected from three public hospitals in the uMgungundlovu District of KwaZulu-Natal. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews conducted six weeks post-delivery at the six-week health check, but within three months of delivery. Interviews were transcribed manually; the data was analysed through thematic analysis. Findings The main themes drawn from the data reflected that childbirth was a deeply personal and meaningful experience. It was seen as a spiritual experience and spirituality was seen as a vital support system in enabling mothers to cope better with pain and other challenges. Emotional and comfort needs were also identified by mothers as being very important to cope with pain and an easier delivery. The presence of midwives and the need for partner and family support were also seen to be important. More importantly the study found that their spirituality and spiritually based activities and rituals were an important aspect of the overall birth experience. The study found a diverse range of spiritual practices and rituals that were salient across all the spiritual worldviews during childbirth and post-delivery. It also found that mothers often resorted to alternate and traditional therapies to help cope with labour and delivery all of which have salience to midwifery practice that is both respectful and sensitive to the diverse worldviews of mothers. Conclusion Collectively the data reflected that childbirth was a holistic experience that cannot be separated also from partner, family and medical support. Whilst traditionally effective midwifery practice may have been so to focus on primarily physical care, the study found that the physical component is interrelated with the psychological, social and cultural aspects as well. Hence effective and ethical midwifery practice is inseparable from these facets but most importantly inseparable from the spiritual worldviews that most mothers follow and ascribe to. Contemporary education needs to recognize the current move towards spiritual care and provide knowledge and skill to deal with patients from diverse spiritual backgrounds. Finally it needs to recognize as this study has found, that childbirth is a multifaceted experience which is spiritual in nature. Viewed in this way both midwives and the management of public hospitals should then make every effort to create spiritually sensitive care during the childbirth experience. / M

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wyoming, 2006. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Nov. 13, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-81).

Thesis (M.S.C.I.T.)--Regis University, Denver, Colo., 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Jun. 25, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing in Advanced Practice

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the phenomenon of spiritual nurturing as experienced by students in their fourth-year of an undergraduate baccalaureate nursing education program in Canada, using van Manen’s (2002) approach to phenomenology. The goal of this study is to describe the lived experience of spiritual nurturing of fourth-year nursing students in order to reflect on how nursing students learn spiritual care. Data were collected via in-depth interviews with seven fourth-year nursing students and analyzed according to van Manen’s interpretive approach. Three themes of spiritual nurturing emerged: spiritual nurturing as exchanging energy (spirituality as relationship with others), spiritual nurturing as recharging energy (spirituality as relationship with self), and spiritual nurturing as receiving energy (spirituality as relationship with transcending). Spiritual nurturing as it applies to nursing education, nursing practice, administration of nursing programs and nursing research are discussed from the students’ perspectives. / vii, 142 leaves : ill. (col. ill.) ; 29 cm

The general aim of this study was to determine the experiences of a sample of terminally ill patients in using spiritually focused psychotherapy. This was a qualitative study conducted to a sample of 2 terminally ill patients from hospice in Grahamstown, South Africa. The research was conducted in 3 phases: an initial in-depth interview conducted to determine the participants' level of spirituality as well as the extent to which their terminal illnesses had affected their functioning. This was followed by a minimum of 6 spiritually focused therapy (SFT) sessions as a second phase of the research. To determine the participants' experiences of SFT, 2-3 in-depth interviews were conducted during the 3m phase of the research study. The research revealed that a belief in a higher power helps terminally ill patients cope better with their illness and that social disconnectedness is related to HIV / AIDS stigma. It also revealed that terminal illness is co-morbid with other psychiatric symptoms such as depression, evokes existential concerns, results in a change in the level of spirituality and affects the whole family. Participants blamed themselves for their illness, but found that engaging in the process of forgiveness of self and others brought about psychological healing for them. They experienced SFT as a coping resource that assisted them to deal with the fear of death as well as increased insight into the development of psychopathology and spiritual blockages. It is recommended that a comprehensive and holistic assessment during intake be undertaken so that where spiritual needs are available, therapy can be spiritually augmented to ensure that such needs/ struggles are addressed. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

Historically, clinical spiritual care and education (or clinical pastoral education, CPE) has focused on pastoral formation, pastoral competence/conversation, pastoral understanding, and interpersonal dynamics. With the rise in holistic education in adult education this research sought to understand how students’ spirituality is affected by the CPE process. The primary research question was: Does CPE affect the spiritual lives and formation of its students? And if it does, how? A secondary research question was: Does CPE affect students’ connection to the god(s)/higher power/divine entity of their understanding? And if it does, how? First, the researcher developed a qualitative survey that allowed participants to self-define their spirituality and provide open-ended descriptions on how CPE affected their spiritual formation, or not. The survey was published with ACPE, Inc. and 17 participants answered. The data was analyzed through thematic coding and five themes emerged: Changes in Relationality, Things That Came Out of Struggle, Changes in Spiritual Beliefs & Spiritual Practices, Importance of Essential Elements in CPE, Things that Came Out of Struggling Related to Divinity. My assessment of the results of the themes is that CPE has been implicitly addressing the spiritual needs and spiritual formation of its students. Therefore, my recommendation is for Educators to find ways to make the implicit explicit thus enhancing what is already present in the curriculum.