The importance of spiritual care by nurses for health and recovery has become increasingly topical in the last decade. However, there is little research into why nurses should give spiritual care. Whilst bodily caring has always been associated with nurses and nursing, spiritual care has been seen as the concern of religious ministers. The steady decline of people belonging to conventional religions in secular British society is paralleled by an upsurge of interest in spiritualities. But why nurses should give spiritual care is unclear. This qualitative, interdisciplinary study aims to explore why nurses are asked to give spiritual care to patients by considering whether there is something amiss with nursing care that would be remedied by the addition of spiritual care. To investigate this, spiritualities and bodily caring are considered in tension with each other. By using feminist standpoint epistemological approaches I propose to: a) allow the everyday experiences of nurses in giving nursing care to be expressed; b) demonstrate that themes of nursing care as comforting, compassionate caring challenge claims that the addition of spiritual care is necessary; c) show that nurses conform to the perverse body/spirit dualisms of dominant patriarchal institutions and cultural norms in describing bodily nursing care as spiritual and d) present living models of nurses and nursing care as meaningful materialist world views. Material for the study was obtained in semi-structured, one-to-one conversational interviews with eighteen experienced practising nurses. Stories of nursing care were interpreted and analysed within nursing theories of spiritual care as either imperative or integral to nursing care. Body/spirit critiques in feminist informed theologies provided a further theoretical framework for analysis. The thesis describes the everyday distress that nurses experience. The feminist design created a vehicle for fresh constructs of care by nurses not previously identified in studies of spiritual care by nurses. The findings provide an evidence base for practising nurses to validate their own skills; for managers and policy makers in planning support for nurses to give nursing care, as well as for chaplains and others to listen and respond to care matters.

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.

No description available.

Spirituality is an integral part of a persons wholeness and therefore has an effect on and plays an important role in health and illness. Nurses are required by national and international nursing bodies as well as hospital accreditation agencies, to identify patients spiritual needs and intervene by integrating spiritual care into their nursing care. However, to date, no nursing studies have described Tanzanian nurses experiences of spirituality and spiritual care. The qualitative method of interpretive description was used. A purposive sample of fifteen registered nurses who were engaged in direct clinical practice at one of the private not-for-profit hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was drawn. In-depth interviews using open-ended questions were carried out, tape-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. The data collection and analysis occurred concurrently. The transcripts were coded using inductive analysis. Themes related to spirituality and spiritual care that emerged from data were: meaning of spirituality, meaning of spiritual care, recognition of spiritual needs, interventions to respond to spiritual needs, challenges addressing spiritual care, and factors positively influencing the provision of spiritual care. Several recommendations for enhancing spiritual caregiving practices were given by participants. The findings from this study offer a basis for assessment, planning, and intervention strategies that nurses can apply in integrating spiritual care in clinical practice.

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

Introduction:Psychosocial intervetions are the actions taken to offer psychosocial support to cancer patients and their relatives for the improvement of their quality of life. They are aimed at meeting patients' mental, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and those of their families.Various previous studies have explored different forms of psychosocial support offered to different groups of cancer patients and their relatives. However, there are few literature reviews about how spirituality is included in psychosocial support among cancer patients. Aims:The aim of this literature review is to explore the spiritual features within psychosocial interventions in cancer care. Method:Two databases were used in this study: CINAHL and PubMed.Thirteen scientific studies involving various psychosocial interventions were included. Content anlysis with three steps' strategy was done. Results:Various spiritual aspects within psychosocial interventions in cancer care were identified, and the most prevalent among them were finding meaning,spirirual coping,spiritual transecendence,connection with others and the Sacred, life completion tasks and preperation for death.Conclusion:Psychosocial spiritual support is an essential element of psychosocial cancer care.There is need for more awareness of how spiritual health is to be addressed in cancer care. / Inledning: Psykosociala interventioner är de återgärder som vidtagits för att erbjuda psykosocialt stöd till cancerpatienter och deras anhöriga för att förbättra deras livskvalitet.De är inriktade på att möta pateinternas mentala,emotionella,sociala och andliga behöv och deras familjers behov.Tidigare studier har undersökt olika former av psykosocialt stöd som erbjuds olika grupper av cancerpatienter och deras anhöriga.Det finns dock få litteraturöversikter om hur andlighet ingår i psykosocialt stöd bland cancerpatienter. Syfte:Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt är att utförska de andliga asoekter inom psykosociala interventioner i cancervård. Metod:Två databaser användes i denna i denna studie: CINAHL och PubMed. Treton vetenskapliga studier med olika psykosociala interventioner inkluderades. Trestegsstrategi innehållanalys gjordes. Resultat:Olika andliga aspekter inom psykosocialt stöd identifierades, och de vanligaste bland dem var meningsskapande, andlig hantering(spiritual coping), andlig transcedens, förbindelser med andra och det Heliga, och föberedelser inför döden. Slutsats:Psykosocialt andligt stöd är en viktig del av psykosocial cancervård. Det finns behöv av mer medvetenhet om hur andlig hälsa hanteras i cancervården.

This DNP project focused on the spiritual aspects of care that are often neglected in the outpatient setting. Most patients value their spiritual health and believe that it is just as important as their mental and physical health. The purpose of this project was to improve the overall spiritual care provided to patients, their families, and/or caregivers in times when they were experiencing spiritual distress. This quality improvement (QI) project was designed to determine whether embedding a chaplain in an outpatient clinic instead of providing a pamphlet about chaplain services increases patient satisfaction. Secondary analysis of the data in this project show that of 306 patients who completed the 4-item screener, 70 patients were identified as having spiritual distress. There were 34 people who benefited from having an embedded chaplain. Spiritual distress was measured using a 10-item survey prior to and after seeing the chaplain; a 3.7 point decrease was seen across 6 patients. It was not a statistically significant improvement, largely due to the small sample (p=.08). Non-parametric chi square fisher exact results showed that satisfaction scores were higher in 5 patients seen by the chaplain (p=. 048) versus 4 not seen by the chaplain. Qualitative results were obtained from 5 chaplain participants were all positive. Though a very small sample, this QI project emphasizes that spiritual care needs are an integral part of holistic care provided through nursing practice. Nursing is tasked to be concerned with each person's human experience, which includes spirituality. This QI projects' contribution to positive social change is that it enhanced the health outcomes and quality of life of those participants involved.

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

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Nursing) / Literature attest that holistic approach to care is the best way to ensure that all human needs, including spiritual needs are taken care of. As such holistic approach to care accepts the notion of "wholeness" nature of the patient. However, in practice patient's holistic needs, which are essential for optimum health, are not routinely addressed when practicing nursing. This implies that regardless of the nurses doing their best to attend to patient's health needs, patients still do not achieve their required optimum health. Furthermore, in the face of good nursing education programmes, attempts to meet the patient's care needs as advocated, a gap still exists in rendering nursing services that truly promote health in a holistic manner. Confusion regarding the scope and holistic nature of nursing, relates not only to nursing organisations having failed to define nursing with clarity concerning the spiritual dimension of care; but they have also not succeeded in implementing nursing that is truly holistic. In this study, it is argued that where spiritual care aspects in nursing remain at the periphery, holistic nursing cannot be truly attained. According to Burkhardt and Hogan promoting one's spirituality within a nursing paradigm can be one way to promote and optimise health, particularly in response to illness. In view of the existing gap between teaching-learning of spiritual care and espoused theory of holistic nursing, a need to develop a theory that would guide and assist nurse educators and nursing students in the teaching and learning of spiritual care was imperative. The aim of this research was to generate a practice theory for teaching-learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme at a higher education institution by answeringthe research question "how can a practice theory for teaching-learning of spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing programme at a higher education institution in the Western Cape be generated? Ethical procedures were applied in accordance to stipulations of the University Research Ethics Committee. The credibility of the study was ensured by application of Guba's model of trustworthiness for qualitative data.