Spiritual care in critically ill patients during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Spiritual care has a positive influence when patients are subjected to serious illnesses, and critically ill situations such as the case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions and attitudes of nurses working at critical care units and emergency services in Spain concerning the spiritual care providing to patients and families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A qualitative investigation was carried out using in-depth interviews with 19 ICU nursing professionals.

Findings: During the pandemic, nurses provided spiritual care for their patients. Although they believed that spirituality was important to help patients to cope with the disease, they do not had a consensual definition of spirituality. Work overload, insufficient time and lack of training were perceived as barriers for providing spiritual healthcare.

Discussion: These results support the role of spirituality in moments of crisis and should be considered by health professionals working in critical care settings.

Keywords: COVID-19; Critical care; Emergency; Health professionals; Qualitative research; Spiritual care; Spirituality.