There is heightened need for awareness of spiritual care in nursing. The need for spiritual care is recognized in nursing literature, NANDA, JCAHO, and other nursing organizations. However, research studies with cancer patients and hospice patients indicate that nurses are reluctant to provide spiritual care for their patients. The purpose of this research study is to describe the current spiritual care beliefs and practices of nurses in general practice. In this descriptive study, the following research questions were answered: (1) what are the spiritual care practices of nurses? (2) how frequently are nurses involved in spiritual care interventions? (3) what is the meaning of spiritual care to nurses?, and ( 4) what are nurses' attitudes and beliefs about spirituality and religion? The Spiritual Care Perspectives Scale (SCPS) and the Information About You questionnaires by Taylor, Highfield, and Amenta were utilized in this research. From a population of approximately 300 nurses working in a religious hospital in the southeastern United States, a convenience sample of 100 nurses participated in the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis of the qualitative data obtained in the short answer, open-ended questions. Results indicated that the spiritual care practices of nurses include: making referrals to chaplains, listening to patients, praying for patients, and facilitating religious rituals. Nurses are frequently involved in spiritual care interventions through prayer. In conclusion, this study of spiritual care beliefs and practices of nurses showed that nurses provide spiritual care in a variety of nursing practice settings in the response to the needs of their patients.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:rtd-3819 |
| Date | 01 January 1997 |
| Creators | Swinyar, Donna M. |
| Publisher | University of Central Florida |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Retrospective Theses and Dissertations |
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