A desire to more fully understand the impact of altered states of spiritual health on the general health of patients has been a focus of recent research activity. Studies have explored the meaning of spirituality held by patients and nurses, the spiritual needs of patients, and methods of providing spiritual care in nursing. However, few studies have investigated nurses’ own spiritual health and the significance this may have on the provision of holistic nursing care. The aim of this study, therefore, was to inform nursing regarding the spiritual health of nurses and the influence that nurses’ own spiritual health has on their ability to provide holistic nursing care to their patients. The study was conducted in two phases using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Phase one consisted of a survey of Division 1 nurses currently employed in the Grampians region of Victoria to describe key dimensions of their spiritual health. This survey provided biographical data and, through the use of the “Shalom Measure of Spiritual Health”, discovered the ideal of spiritual health held by nurses as well as the nurses’ perception of patient needs pertaining to the achievement of spiritual health. Phase two utilised Naturalistic Inquiry to further explore the meaning of spirituality and spiritual health held by nurses, and the methods of achieving these for nurses and patients. The findings revealed that although nurses perceive the spiritual dimension of patient care to be important, they feel ill-equipped to provide this aspect of care. In addition, the major support for nurses, who themselves experience spiritual distress whilst at work, comes from colleagues. Further, prevailing health care systems in place do not always lend themselves to holistic approaches to care. This study identifies the need for nurse education to redress the clearly inadequate preparation nurses are given for this aspect of their role. Health care policy-makers and administrators also have a responsibility to consider all dimensions of care when designing and implementing health care guidelines and systems. / Master of Nursing
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/266083 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Lea, Dorothy |
| Publisher | University of Ballarat |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Dorothy M.Lea |
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