Spiritual Care: What Are the Nursing Students Say About It?
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: Spiritual care is an integral component of holistic patient care, and nurses are strongly encouraged to incorporate it into their caregiving practices. Regrettably, in the clinical setting in Malaysia, this crucial aspect of care often receives inadequate attention. The conventional approach continues to be the prevailing norm. Since nursing students are important healthcare team members in the future, knowing their views on spiritual care helps measure their ability to provide effective care to patients. Thus, this research aimed to explore nursing students’ perceptions and experiences of spiritual care. Materials and methods: This research applied a qualitative research design with eight undergraduate nursing students as the participants. They were recruited using the purposive sampling technique from April 2023 till June 2023. Data were collected using semi-structured, in-depth and audio-recorded face-to-face interviews. All of the interviews were subsequently transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: There were three themes identified: 1) The meaning of spiritual care; 2) Embracing the benefits of spiritual care; and 3) The challenges of delivering spiritual care. Conclusion: This study discovered that undergraduate nursing students have different perspectives on spiritual care for patients based on their own beliefs and values. They also experience various challenges in delivering spiritual care to the patients. This study has provided greater insight into the solutions to promote the practice of spiritual care in the clinical setting.
Downloads
Article Details
References
Sinha AK, Kumar S. Integrating spirituality into patient care: an essential element of modern healthcare system. Indian Heart J. 2014; 66(3):395-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ihj.2014.03.023
ICN International Council for Nurses (ICN). Code of Ethics for Nurses. Geneva: ICN; 2012.
Bussing A. The Spiritual Needs Questionnaire in Research and Clinical Application: A Summary of Findings, Journal of Religion and Health. 2021; 60(5):3732-374. doi: 10.1007/s10943-021-01421-4
Balducci L. Geriatric Oncology, Spirituality, and Palliative Care. Journal Pain Symptom Management. 2019; 57(1):171–5. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2018.05.009
Blaber M, Jone J, Willis D. Spiritual care: which is the best assessment tool for palliative settings? International Journal of Palliative Nursing. 2015; 21(9):430–8. doi: 10.12968/ijpn.2015.21.9.430
Williams JA, Meltzer D, Arora V, Chung G, Curlin FA. Attention to inpatients’ religious and spiritual concerns: predictors and association with patient satisfaction. Journal of general internal medicine. 2011 Nov;26:1265-71. doi: 10.1007/s11606-011-1781-y
Ferrell BR. Spiritual Care in Hospice and Palliative Care. Journal Hospital Palliative Care. 2017; 20:215-220.
Melhem GA, Zeilani RS, Zaqqout OA, Aljwad AI, Shawagfeh MQ, Al-Rahim MA. Nurses' Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Giving: A Comparison Study Among All Health Care Sectors in Jordan. Indian Journal Palliative Care. 2016; 22(1):42-9. doi: 10.4103/0973-1075.173949
Atarhim MA, Lee S, Copnell B. An Exploratory Study of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Among Malaysian Nurses. Journal Religion Health. 2019; 58:180–194. doi: 10.1007/s10943-018-0624-0
Van de Geer J, Groot M, Andela R, Leget C, Prins J, Vissers K, Zock H. Training hospital staff on spiritual care in palliative care influences patient-reported outcomes: Results of a quasi-experimental study. Palliative Medicine. 2017; 31(8):743-753. doi: 10.1177/0269216316676648
Farahani AS, Rassouli M, Salmani N, Mojen LK, Sajjadi M, Heidarzadeh M, Masoudifar Z, Khademi F. Evaluation of Health-Care Providers' Perception of Spiritual Care and the Obstacles to Its Implementation. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing. 2019; 6(2),122-129. doi: 10.4103/apjon.apjon_69_18
Ozbasaran F, Ergul S, Temel AB, Aslan GG, Coban A. Turkish nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Journal Clinical Nursing. 2011; 20(21-22):3102-10. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2011.03778.x
Tenny S, Brannan JM, Brannan GD. Qualitative Study. [Updated 2022 Sep 18]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470395/
Guest G, Bunce A, Johnson L. How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods. 2006; 18(1), 59-82. doi: 10.1177/1525822X05279903
Kiger ME, Varpio L. Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher. 2020; 42(8):846-854. doi: 10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
Babamohamadi H, Kadkhodaei-Elyaderani H, Ebrahimian A, Ghorbani R. The effect of spiritual care based on the sound heart model on the spiritual health of patients with acute myocardial infarction. Journal of Religion and Health. 2020; 59(5):2638–2653. doi: 10.1007/s10943-020-01003-w
De Diego-Cordero R, López-Gómez L, Lucchetti G, Badanta B. Spiritual care in critically ill patients during COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing Outlook, 2022; 70(1): 64–77. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2021.06.017
Selman LE, Brighton LJ, Sinclair S, Karvinen I, Egan R, Speck P, Powell RA, Deskur-Smielecka E, Glajchen M, Adler S, Puchalski C. Patients’ and caregivers’ needs, experiences, preferences and research priorities in spiritual care: A focus group study across nine countries. Palliative medicine. 2018 Jan;32(1):216-30. doi: 10.1177/0269216317734954
Kurniawati H, Retnowati S, Riyono B, Widyawati W. Literature Review of Spiritual Care in Islamic Cultural Perspective. IBDA`. Jurnal Kajian Islam Dan Budaya, 2018; 16(2), 350–368. doi: 10.24090/ibda.v16i2.1942
Herlianita R, Yen M, Chen CH, Fetzer SJ, Lin EC. Perception of spirituality and spiritual care among Muslim nurses in Indonesia. Journal Religion Health. 2018; 57(2):762–73. doi: 10.1007/s10943-017-0437-6
Kaddourah B, Abu‑Shaheen A, Al‑Tannir M. Nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care at five tertiary care hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A cross‑sectional study. Oman Medical Journal. 2018; 33:154‑8. doi: 10.5001/omj.2018.28
Khalajinia Z, Tehran HA, Heidari A. Explaining the perception of spiritual care from the perspective of health personnel: A qualitative study. Journal Education Health Promotion. 202; 10:53. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_599_20
Büssing, A. (2021). The spiritual needs questionnaire in research and clinical application: A summary of findings. Journal of Religion and Health, 60(5), 3732-3748. doi: 10.1007/s10943-021-01421-4
Chen J, Lin Y, Yan J, Wu Y, Hu R. The effects of spiritual care on quality of life and spiritual well-being among patients with terminal illness: a systematic review. Palliative medicine. 2018; 32(7):1167-79. doi: 10.1177/0269216318772267
Ovayolu Ö, İlter SM, Serçe S, Ovayolu N. Perception Status of Nursing Department Students in Terms of Spirituality and Spiritual Care. Dubai Medical Journal, 2021; 4(4), 334–340. doi: 10.1159/000518780
Amiri S, Vasli P , Mohtashami J , Memaryan N. Barriers to Provision of Spiritual Care in Mental Health Care Centers: A Qualitative Content Analysis. Iran Journal Psychiatry Behavioural Science. 2021; 15(4):e115702. doi: org/10.5812/ijpbs.115702
Tao Z, Wu P, Luo A, Ho TL, Chen CY, Cheng SY. Perceptions and practices of spiritual care among hospice physicians and nurses in a Taiwanese tertiary hospital: a qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care. 2020; 19(1):96. doi: 10.1186/s12904-020-00608-y
Roze des Ordons AL, Stelfox HT, Grindrod-Millar K, Sinuff T, Smiechowski J, Sinclair S. Challenges and Enablers of Spiritual Care for Family Members of Patients in the Intensive Care Unit. The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling:JPCC, 2020; 74(1), 12–21. doi: 10.1177/1542305019890120
DeKoninck B, Hawkins LA, Fyke JP, Neal T, Currier K. Spiritual care practices of advanced practice nurses: a multinational study. Journal Nurse Practice. 2016; 12(8): 536-44. doi: 10.1016/j.nurpra.2016.05.023
O'Brien MR, Kinloch K, Groves KE, Jack BA. Meeting patients’ spiritual needs during end-of-life care: A qualitative study of nurses’ and healthcare professionals’ perceptions of spiritual care training. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 2019; 28(1-2):182-9. doi: 10.1111/jocn.14648
Momeni G, Hashemi MS, Hemati Z. Barriers to providing spiritual care from a nurses’ perspective: A content analysis study. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 2022; 27(6), 575–580. doi: 10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_422_21
Alch CK, Wright CL, Collier KM, Choi PJ. Barriers to Addressing the Spiritual and Religious Needs of Patients and Families in the Intensive Care Unit: A Qualitative Study of Critical Care Physicians. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. 2021; 38(9): 1120–1125. doi: 10.1177/1049909120970903
Hu Y, Jiao M, Li F. Effectiveness of spiritual care training to enhance spiritual health and spiritual care competency among oncology nurses. BMC Palliative Care. 2019; 18(1), 1–8. doi: 10.1186/s12904-019-0489-3