Spiritual Care at the Bedside: Are We Practicing What We Preach?

J Christ Nurs. 2019 Oct/Dec;36(4):238-243. doi: 10.1097/CNJ.0000000000000570.

Abstract

Little is known about how nurses' personal spirituality and religious (S/R) beliefs impact their spiritual care of patients. An online survey was used to collect data from 445 nurses, assessing facets of religiosity, their opinions about introducing S/R during patient care, demographic, and work-related variables. Findings indicated that even in a sample of Christian nurses who scored high on religiousness measures, spiritual care is infrequent. Nurses' opinions about whether it was appropriate to initiate S/R conversation, self-disclosure, and prayer were associated with aspects of nurse religiosity. Nurses working in a faith-based organization were more likely to believe they could initiate S/R conversation and offer prayer.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Internet
  • Parish Nursing*
  • Point-of-Care Systems*
  • Practice Patterns, Nurses'*
  • Spirituality*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • United States