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Nursing, with its socially embedded theory and practice, inevitably operates in the realm of power and politics. One of these political sites is that of religion, which to varying degrees continues to shape beliefs about health and illness, the delivery of healthcare services and the nurse-patient encounter. In this paper, I attempt to complicate nursing's views on religion and politics in healthcare, with the intent of thinking critically and philosophically about questions that arise at the intersection of religion, politics and nursing/healthcare. These questions include the following: What is the domain of religion and politics? How (non)religious are the contemporary societies in which nurses practice? What are the variations and implications of secularism? How is religion entangled with other intersecting social relations of power? How does a political reading of religion and politics matter to the concerns of nursing?, (© 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Abstract: Background: The last 30 years have seen a proliferation of literature about spirituality in the nursing press. A dominant theme has been the need to differentiate spirituality from religion and this has provoked a number of authors to attempt to define and describe religion. As nursing advocates respect for the person''s religious beliefs the way in which it is portrayed is very relevant. Aims: This work explores how religion is defined and discussed in the nursing literature about spirituality to consider whether the way religion is portrayed could be said to demonstrate ‘respect’ for religious beliefs. Methods: Texts about religion were examined in relation to theories of religion from anthropology, sociology and religious studies. These disciplines have produced substantive or irreducible accounts in contrast to functional and reductive theories about religion. Results: The result of this analysis is that there appears to be a tendency to talk about religion without using sources which itself suggests a lack of respect as well as an inclination to view it only in reductive and functional terms. This is proved by the similarity of ideas in the nursing literature to the functionalist and reductionist theories of Frazer, Tylor, Marx, Durkheim and Freud. This approach is criticised with reference to the work of Otto, Bellah, Berger and Pals who suggest that religion should be seen as irreducibly to do with the sacred. It is proposed that this is a more appropriate outlook to take for an occupation which professes to respect the religious beliefs of all individuals. However, viewing religion in this more meaningful way, acknowledging their spirituality has implications for attempts to differentiate religion and spirituality. Conclusion: Reductive accounts of religion imply, probably inadvertently but nevertheless negative, attitudes towards religious belief. A more serious and deeper exploration of the meaning of religion from the standpoint of irreducibility might be more respectful and tolerant of religious belief. This is particularly salient in a society where religious practice is increasing both in the indigenous population and as a result of immigration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Healthy ageing refers to the development and maintenance of the functional ability of ageing individuals. Aged care nurses provide nursing care to elderly individuals and usually work in aged care residential facilities, nursing homes, home care services, and/or hospital departments. The registered nurse working in the aged care sector has several important roles. Key roles cover both therapeutic and preventative paradigms, as discussed in this paper. The aged care nurse is also "tasked with" holistic patient-centred care and the promotion of healthy ageing via advocacy and sociocultural roles. This paper examined, described, and analysed the multifaceted role of an aged care nurse from an Australian perspective. We conducted meticulous searches using PubMed, Google Scholar, government guidelines, authoritative body regulations, quality control guidelines, and government portals pertaining to aged care nursing in Australia. This paper relied upon the information garnered from publications, reports, and guidelines resulting from these searches and analyses. Multiple aspects of healthy ageing and holistic aged care nursing are discussed. The key roles of the aged care nurse are enumerated next, in accordance with the code of conduct from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). The NMBA promotes evidence-based, culturally sensitive, consultative, holistic aged care clinical practice that includes input from care recipients, their decision makers, and/or their health care providers. The difficult issue of loneliness is discussed with strategies to ameliorate aspects of this. Good social networks, community interactions, meaningful friendships, and participation in personalised spiritual/religious practices improve the quality of aged care. The key topic of elder abuse and its forms are discussed apropos of aged care nursing. Healthy ageing is promoted by identifying and reporting elder abuse at the earliest. Current Australian law and recent federal legislation changes pertaining to aged care nursing are discussed next. As a result of these legislation changes, several new quality control imperatives (for aged care organisations/facilities) under the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC) have been implemented. Residential and flexible aged care providers should now have robust ongoing documentation and a well-developed behaviour support plan (BSP) for each care recipient who currently requires or may require restrictive practices, which must be reported under the new serious incident reporting scheme (SIRS). Various strategies to promote healthy ageing and approaches to communicate effectively with aged care recipients are also discussed. Healthy ageing is promoted when age care recipients are empowered with making their own autonomous choices in "major and minor" aspects of life. Finally, approaches to optimise quality aged care nursing care are discussed. The Roper–Logan–Tierney model is one of the models used to assess and optimise nursing care. This is premised on the capability of an ageing individual to accomplish 12 basic activities of daily living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper, we walk out some central ideas about posthumanisms and the ways in which nursing is already deeply entangled with them. At the same time, we point to ways in which nursing might benefit from further entanglement with other ideas emerging from posthumanisms. We first offer up a brief history of posthumanisms, following multiple roots to several points of formation. We then turn to key flavors of posthuman thought to differentiate between them and clarify our collective understanding and use of the terms. This includes considerations of the threads of transhumanism, critical posthumanism, feminist new materialism, and the speculative, affirmative ethics that arise from critical posthumanism and feminist new materialism. These ideas are fruitful for nursing, and already in action in many cases, which is the matter we occupy ourselves with in the final third of the paper. We consider the ways nursing is already posthuman—sometimes even critically so—and the speculative worldbuilding of nursing as praxis. We conclude with visions for a critical posthumanist nursing that attends to humans and other/more/nonhumans, situated and material and embodied and connected, in relation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives To challenge statements made about 'Careful Nursing' as a 'distinctive system' of nursing established by the Irish Sisters of Mercy, prior to Florence Nightingale, and which is said to have influenced her. Background Numerous publications have appeared claiming the emergence of a 'distinctive system' of nursing as 'Ireland's legacy to nursing', which, it is claimed, influenced Nightingale's system. One paper argues that the Irish system has its philosophical roots in Thomist philosophy. Several papers argue the ongoing relevance of the Irish system, not Nightingale's, for contemporary nursing theory and practice. Nightingale's influence on and legacy to Irish nursing are not acknowledged. Design A Discursive paper. Methods Archival and published sources were used to compare the nursing systems of Florence Nightingale and the Irish Sisters of Mercy, with particular attention to nursing during the Crimean War. Results Claims were challenged of a 'distinctive system' of nursing established by the Irish Sisters of Mercy in the early nineteenth century, and of its stated influence on the nursing system of Florence Nightingale. The contention of great medical satisfaction with the 'distinctive' system is refuted with data showing that the death rate at the Koulali Hospital, where the Irish sisters nursed, was the highest of all the British war hospitals during the Crimean War. Profound differences between the two systems are outlined. Conclusions Claims for a 'distinctive' Irish system of nursing fail for lack of evidence. Nightingale's principles and methods, as they evolved over the first decade of her school's work, remain central to nursing theory and practice. Relevance to clinical practice Nightingale's insistence on respect for patients and high ethical standards remains relevant to practice no less so as specific practices change with advances in medical knowledge and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper was presented at the Second International Spirituality in Healthcare Conference 2016--Nurturing the Spirit held at Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin. 23rd June 2016. Historically, nursing has had a sound "spiritual" grounding. However, some contemporary health literature is questioning spirituality's relevance, and practitioners often shy away from it. This article aims to highlight the findings of a study which, in exploring the nurse's personal grief relating to caring for a child with an intellectual disability who has died, identified the practice and value of spirituality in nursing practice. A qualitative descriptive research approach was employed. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with eight female nurses who had cared for a child with an intellectual disability who has died. Data was analyzed using Newell and Burnard's pragmatic approach to qualitative data. Ethical Approval was granted by University of Dublin, Trinity College and the relevant healthcare provider. Eight broad themes emerged from the study. "Prayer and Religion" was a sub-theme of "Focusing on the positive", which is the main focus of this article, and discussed in depth for the first time. Spirituality and religion plays a key role in the daily lives of many nurses, who further embrace this aspect of their lives when managing dying, death and bereavement. It became evident that spirituality was not merely a reactive strategy, but one underpinning a participant's core nursing values. Nurse Managers and colleagues should continue to acknowledge, respect and support staff's spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Effective nurse–patient communication is important in improving quality of health care. However, there are several barriers to nurse–patient communication in Saudi Arabia. This is attributed to the increasing number of non-Saudi expatriate nurses providing health care to patients. In particular, there are differences in culture, religion and language among non-Saudi nurses and patients. This integrative review aims to identify and synthesize quantitative and qualitative evidence on the current practice in nurse–patient communication in Saudi Arabia and its effect on service users' quality of care, safety and satisfaction. Methods: An integrative review based on Whittemore and Knafl's approach (Whittemore and Knafl, J Adv Nurs 52:546–553, 2005) was used to conduct the review. Peer-reviewed articles containing any of a series of specific key terms were identified from sources such as CINAHL, EMBASE, Medline, PubMed and PsychINFO. The review included studies that focused on nurse–patient communication issues, communication barriers, and cultural and language issues. The search was limited to papers about the Saudi Arabian health system published in English and Arabic languages between 2000 and 2018. A data extraction form was developed to extract information from included articles. Results: Twenty papers were included in the review (Table 1). Ten papers employed quantitative methods, eight papers used qualitative methods and two used mixed methods. The review revealed two major themes: 'current communication practices' and 'the effect of communication on patients'. Some of the communication practices rely on non-verbal methods due to a lack of a common language, which often results in the meaning of the communication being misinterpreted. Many non-Saudi nurses have limited knowledge about Saudi culture and experience difficulty in understanding, and in some cases respecting, the cultural and religious practices of patients. Further, limited nurse–patient communication impacts negatively on the nurse–patient relationship, which can affect patient safety and lead to poor patient satisfaction. Conclusions: Current nurse–patient communication practices do not meet the needs of Saudi patients due to cultural, religious and language differences between nurses and patients. The barriers to effective nurse–patient communication adversely effects patient safety and patient satisfaction. Further research from the perspective of the patient and family is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. To offer a detailed discussion of the issue of 'lack of critique' in the literature on spirituality in nursing. The discussion will include the limited use of sources from theology and religious studies and the demand to separate spirituality and religion and will go on to examine the consequences of the resulting approach. The drive for unique knowledge to further professionalisation and the demands of inclusiveness are suggested as possible reasons for the development of the current model. The dangers and pitfalls of definition are explored. The paper suggests that theology could provide insights into explaining spirituality. Background. The last four decades have seen a proliferation of definitions of spirituality in the nursing literature. Recently, in response to their own concerns and prompts from outside the 'spirituality' community authors have suggested that we revisit this literature with a more critical stance. This paper is in response to that suggestion. During the course of a PhD supervised from a department of practical theology I have critically analysed the literature from several perspectives and this paper is one result of that review. Design. Literature review. Methods. Critical reflection on how spirituality has been defined. Conclusion. The lack of critique has produced a bias in the literature towards broad, generic, existential definitions which, together with the intentional divorce from religion and theology have led to definitions which have the tendency to result in a type of spiritual care which is indistinguishable from psychosocial care, hard to explain to patients and difficult to put into practice. Relevance to clinical practice. The acceptance of a diverse range of understandings of spirituality and a greater focus on practical ways of using it in nursing care are the direction the profession should be moving into. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the works of great Polish philosopher, Mieczysław Albert Krąpiec, whose creative output can be applied to professional nursing practice. Krąpiec's philosophical heritage is extensive and encompasses many philosophical fields: metaphysics, philosophical anthropology, philosophy of law, philosophy of culture, philosophy of politics and philosophy of language. Krąpiec created an original philosophical synthesis characterized by a realistic approach. In this paper, I present only one of several original philosophical concepts developed by Krąpiec: the theory of the person based on seven essential characteristics, that is the ability for cognition, love, freedom, religion, legal subjectivity, completeness and dignity. I attempt to show how these personal characteristics correspond to various patient needs. I argue that the qualitative deficit of any personal characteristics indicated by Krąpiec corresponds to a patient's real need that must be satisfied. I also stress that the skilful diagnosing of all—not only selected—qualitative deficits of characteristics can be defined as holistic care in the nursing profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a discourse analysis of publications of the Christian Reformed Church regarding its Rehoboth Mission near Gallup, New Mexico, among the Navajo. All issues of The Banner, Acts of Synod of the Christian Reformed Church, the Rehoboth Hospital Bulletin, and the Annual Report of the Rehoboth Mission from 1880 to the present were reviewed for references to health-care at Rehoboth from 1903 to 1943. Four religiously framed discourses were identified: discourses justifying provision of health-care at the mission, discourses of the Navajos as immature and potentially dangerous, needing to be civilized, discourses of cleanliness, and discourses of calling. This paper adds to a growing body of knowledge about religious frames within which nurses have practiced in North America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore parents' perspective on hospital's care and management of the remains of stillborn babies. Background: Each year, 2.6 million of pregnancies end as stillbirth. Recent literature began to understand parents' traumatic experience in stillbirth and its profound impact on parents' mental health and psychosocial effect. But there is limited understanding on the actual care and management of the stillborn baby, nor is there an agreement on how hospitals should care for the stillborn baby to mitigate parents' profound loss. Design: A descriptive phenomenological approach was applied to conduct this study. Methods: A purposive sample of twenty couples (40 individuals) who had encountered how to care for the remains of their stillborn babies participated in the study. The data were collected through in‐depth interviews, which involved semi‐structured and open‐ended questions. The phenomenological methods of Giorgi were applied to analyse the data. The COREQ checklist was used preparing the manuscript. Results: Parents felt unprepared and lack of support when they had to handle their stillborn babies' remains. The research results revealed two major themes: (1) Handling stillborn babies remain ignorantly; (2) Pacifying the disturbed soul on both sides. Conclusions: It was found in the study that reflection and identification were the emerging themes, which can enable healthcare professionals to understand parents' concerns in a meaningful way, as they deal with the remains of stillborn babies. Moreover, it is hoped that hospital administration and health care personnel should consider stillborn parents' concerns and incorporate their needs into nursing assessment and treatment practices. Relevance to clinical practice: Given stillbirth's profound implication for parents' identity and psychosocial role, hospitals need to be more sensitive and proactive to parents' cultural and religious needs when they care for stillborn baby and handle its body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of nursing students' fasting during Ramadan on their risky behaviors. This study was conducted in a university located in 2022 using the prospective cohort study method. The data were collected from the nursing department students through face-to-face questionnaires. The sample of the study consisted of 186 nursing students. The data were obtained using a descriptive information form, which consists of questions regarding the descriptive characteristics of the nursing students, and the risky behaviors form, created by the researchers, to evaluate the effect of fasting during Ramadan on nursing students' risky behaviors. According to the findings of the research, it has been determined that the students who always fast during Ramadan have regular sahur. When the students' level of religious faith and fasting and having sahur status were compared with their risky behaviors, the mean scores of exercise and nutrition increased significantly, and the mean scores of interpersonal relationships decreased significantly. It was determined that the majority of students had a high level of religious faith, fasted and had sahur during Ramadan. Consequently, while Ramadan fasting negatively affected students' physical activity, nutrition and sleep patterns, it positively affected their interpersonal relationship status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To summarize the evidence regarding the unmet care needs of women who have undergone breast cancer surgery and identify research gaps. Design: A scoping review. Data Sources: This review entailed a systematic search in EMBASE, Medline via PubMed, CINAHL Complete, APA PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and Scopus (up until 30 July 2023). Review Methods: This review was guided by Arksey and O'Malley's Framework (2005) and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analysis‐Scoping Review extension (PRISMA‐ScR). Results: Twenty‐five studies that included 4914 participants were retrieved. Fourteen studies employed quantitative designs, eight used qualitative methods, two were mixed‐methods studies and one used a qualitative meta‐synthesis. Women who have undergone breast cancer surgery experience a wide range of complex and multifaceted unmet care needs. The informational/educational and psychological/emotional domains were the most frequently reported among the identified domains. Meanwhile, the sexual and spiritual/religious beliefs domains remained relatively underexplored. Furthermore, none of the assessment tools used in these studies captured the entirety of the possible domains of unmet care needs. Conclusion: Needs assessment should be integrated into the routine care of women who have undergone breast cancer surgery. Interventions should be developed to address the unmet informational/educational and psychological/emotional needs of women. Future studies should employ high‐quality mixed‐methods approaches to explore women's sexual and spiritual/religious concerns. Impact: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the unmet care needs of women who have undergone the breast cancer surgery. These findings will contribute to the development of tailored interventions. This review also informs future studies to explore distinct domains of unmet care needs. Patient or Public Contribution: No patient or public contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a widespread belief that nurses have a duty to provide spiritual care. However, many feel there is still a need for debate surrounding the ethical use of prayer in both nursing research and practice. By using critical reflections and evidence-based literature, this paper develops a discourse on the ethics of prayer as a spiritual intervention in nursing and health care practice. Several key ethical issues are highlighted. In regards to research, lack of informed consent is a major concern in both research and nursing practice. Key ethical issues in practice include questions around intention and authority, e.g. despite the religious beliefs of the nurse, intentions to proselytize must be avoided to protect patient autonomy and avoid abuse of the nurse's authority. Furthermore, prayer has unknown side effects and implications. This paper concludes that, in practice, nurses must reconcile their personal, spiritual beliefs with their professional duties, and while this may be a delicate balance, it is not yet appropriate to encourage or dissuade a patient from their beliefs until appropriate research evidence is produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been increased interest in the role of religion in the reform of nursing during the mid-nineteenth century. However, less is known about how ‘party’ disputes between evangelicals and followers of the ‘Oxford Movement’ may have affected nursing. This study examines a proposal to create a nursing association for the Diocese of Lichfield in 1864, which leads to a public dispute concerning the ‘ecclesiastical’ nature of the organisation. Leading evangelicals in Derby campaigned against the idea of nurses belonging to a ‘sisterhood’. This resulted in two rival organisations being created in 1865. This paper reports upon the nature and origins of the dispute within the diocese, unsuccessful attempts to draw Florence Nightingale into the dispute and the relative success of the two institutions. The results of this research indicate that the importance of context and of place must be recognised when studying the history of nursing. This research is based mainly, upon newspaper reports, correspondence and miscellaneous sources, including biographies as there are few surviving records from the two organisations under scrutiny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a perspective on the development of knowledge in the spiritual dimension of aging, with particular emphasis on nursing and pastoral studies. Research that provides important understandings for these two disciplines but conducted by other disciplines will also be included. Issues of definitions of spirituality and the reasons for choosing to use the term "spirituality" rather than "religion" in the practice settings of nursing and pastoral care in a secular society are discussed. Study from the specialties of mental health, palliative care and issues of spirituality and chronic illnesses are examined. Finally, the state of knowledge in these two disciplines is summarized and future directions in research of aging and spirituality arc suggested. The paper is written from an Australian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This paper is an exploration of the challenge of negotiating the highly personalized concept of spirituality within the public sphere of professional-patient interactions. Background. Spirituality has become increasingly prominent within the nursing discourse, and providing spiritual care is often positioned as an ethical obligation of care. However, bringing such a personal concept into the public domain of care creates some unique tensions and ethical risks. Discussion. Nurses bring three potentially competing identities to spiritual care encounters with patients. Firstly, they are professionals with a public trust in health promotion and restoration, including those areas that intersect with spiritual health. Secondly, they are citizens of a liberal society where non-judgmental pluralism as it relates to spirituality is enshrined. Thirdly, they are individuals who hold particular beliefs and values about spirituality. Each of these identities may result in particular, and potentially conflicting, approaches to spiritual care. Ultimately, the identity which nurses choose to adopt is often determined by how they view themselves in the spiritual care encounter, either as experts with legitimate authority to intervene in the spiritual lives of patients or as people in a shared relational encounter. Each of these approaches carries ethical risks, although the nature of these risks is different. Conclusion. The identities which nurses bring to spiritual care encounters have far-reaching implications for patient experiences in those encounters. Nurses who position themselves as experts run the risk of objectifying the spiritual, being experienced as coercive and transcending nursings' competence. The work of Martin Buber is presented as a model that, while acknowledging competing identities, sets forth a vision of spirituality and spiritual care based upon relational reciprocity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. This paper explores certain key critiques of spirituality-in-nursing as they have been offered by people outside of the discipline. It argues that nurses have not taken seriously enough the recent criticism of the nature and role of spirituality in nursing. Not to listen to the ‘enemies’ of spirituality-in-nursing is to risk stagnation and a drift into obscurity. Background. The area of spirituality has become a growing field of interest for nurses and has produced a burgeoning body of research literature. Yet, whilst much has been written about the positive aspects of spirituality, nurses have offered almost no critique of the ways in which spirituality and spiritual care are understood, despite the fact that there are clearly certain key issues that require robust critique and thoughtful reflection. Almost all of the major criticisms of spirituality-in-nursing have come from people outside of the discipline of nursing. The paper argues that nurses need to listen carefully to the criticisms of spirituality and spiritual care offered by the ‘enemies’ of spiritual care in nursing. When listened to constructively, they highlight issues that are vital for the development and forward movement of this important area of nursing practice. Methods. Literature review and critical reflection on current critiques of spirituality in nursing practice. Conclusions. The paper concludes that nurses need to begin to develop spirituality as a specific field of enquiry with its own bodies of knowledge, methodologies, assumptions and core disciplines. Relevance to clinical practice. In listening to and taking seriously its ‘enemies’, nursing has the opportunity to establish spirituality as an important, creative and vibrant aspect of nursing practice that has the capacity to grow and respond constructively to its ‘enemies’, in ways that make whole-person-care a real possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I bring together Jewish and Buddhist philosophical resources to develop a notion of radical responsibility that can confront a complicity within nursing and health care between empathy and (neo)liberal white supremacist hegemony. My inspiration comes from Angela Davis's call for building coalitions to advance struggles for peace and justice. I proceed as follows. First, I note ways phenomenology clarifies empathy's seeming foundational role in nursing care, and how such a formulation can be complicit with assumptions about private individualism. Second, I turn to the Jewish philosophies of Martin Buber and Emmanuel Levinas, and their advocacy for a kind of responsibility that precedes the constitution of individuality as this can provide a resource for action and practice circumventing liberal influenced empathy. I note critical reservations about direct and practical application of Levinasian ethics in nursing care, and turn to engaged Buddhist philosophies of interdependence—such as in Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama—as a corrective. Third, I conclude by indicating ways interreligious radical responsibility can reorient us toward housekeeping habits of character and away from exceptional crisis management, noting specific examples and actions in health care, nursing education and nursing scholarship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

bash a. (2004) Journal of Clinical Nursing 13, 11–16 Spirituality: the emperor's new clothes? This paper explores the concept of ‘spirituality’ with reference to the Patients’ Charter that stipulates that a person's religious, spiritual and cultural needs should be respected at all times. The aim is to offer a critical analysis of what the word ‘spirituality’ may mean when used in the Patients’ Charter and to explore the implications of this for clinical practice. A critical discussion based on a literature review, examining in particular methodological presuppositions. The meaning of ‘spirituality’ in the Judaeo–Christian biblical traditions is explored. Some of the heuristic assumptions in contemporary research on ‘spirituality’ are examined. Philosophical (i.e. non-scientific) and scientific questions to do with ‘spirituality’ are disentangled. The paper concludes that: (i) ‘Spirituality’ is an elastic term not capable of universal definition as each person's spirituality is an individual matter for them and (ii) tools that are being developed for identifying a person's spirituality run the risk of making wrong presuppositions about what comprises spirituality. It is unlikely that tools can be developed that are widely applicable for identifying and assessing spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The nursing literature on spirituality tends to agree that modern science is relatively powerless to address the loss of personal meaning experienced by people facing death, suffering and loss. As a remedy, the literature recommends addressing patients' spirituality. The typical analytical move is to distinguish spirituality from religion and consider it a part, dimension or property of the patient. AIM AND METHOD: This paper uses discourse analysis to identify the formal properties of scientific and religious discourses and their social and political implications. The nursing literature is then investigated to detect the use of such discourses in constructing the object spirituality and to consider any implications for nursing as a social practice. FINDINGS: Far from escaping science and religion, the literature constructs spirituality by means of scientific and religious discourses. These discourses have characteristic strengths and weaknesses that the nursing literature seems to miss. Accordingly, its use of religious discourse lacks coherence and depth, and risks merging human with transcendent authority. Its use of scientific discourse lacks precision and clarity and risks intensifying those features of modernity which contribute to a loss of personal meaning in the face of death, suffering and loss. CONCLUSION: Nursing literature on spirituality raises important questions but is limited in its capacity to address them. This paper provides an alternative perspective. First, it draws on an analysis of the modern institutional environment and its existential dimension. Secondly, it applies discourse analysis to the task of helping people experiencing illness and injury. This approach respects the strengths and limitations of both scientific and religious discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper offers an ideal type process which considers any patient, his intimates and hospital chaplain in the wider setting of personal care. It calls attention to an important aspect of patient care which offers a starting point from which to begin assessing the needs of any patient from a complementary perspective. The paper reveals two important consequences of the features of any patient situation for the structuring of whole patient care. The first is that the ill person can be susceptible to certain fundamental characteristics which bring him face-to-face with situations in which established practices display an insufficiency for providing mechanisms of adjustment. The second is that spiritual support can be a most important mechanism of adjustment to the aleatory and frustrating facts of these basic characteristics of the patient's existence. Also, it is not only that the ill person may have a need to be helped in this way, but that the appropriate general pattern of action in regard to the source of help is often related to evaluation by nursing and other health service personnel--who are inexpert in this field of care--of the general requirements of any patient situation. This evaluation may have important consequences regarding the completeness of patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has long been thought that religious orders, by their very existence (apart from any direct service such as teaching or nursing), enhance the secular social welfare. This paper reports theoretical predictions, derived from the postulates of comparison theory, concerning the existence of this public benefit of the cloister and the determinants of its magnitude, including the effects of economic inequality and of the societal valued goods. The basic predictions suggest further implications for the rates of vocations and defections, for state sympathies toward religious orders, and for the rise and development of monastic and mendicant institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports data on the complexities of delivering religious/spiritual care in sexual health from a staff perspective. A learning needs analysis, in survey format, was conducted with the nursing staff of a leading London, sexual health clinic. Recruitment took place in May 2011 over a period of 2 weeks. The sample consisted of 25 members of staff which included service support workers and registered nurses. The 25 question survey was conducted and reviewed using Survey Monkey™. The survey was divided into three sections, being population demographics, clinical experience and understanding and education. This article will explore the second section of being clinical experience and understanding. This section used six open-ended questions to investigate participant's experience of common clinical episodes where religion was an influential part of the patient experience and decision-making. A range of contemporary sexual health and religious issues were extrapolated from the survey findings ranging from homosexuality to termination of pregnancy. Four main areas of complexity identified from participants responses were sexual dysfunction, treatment issues, sexual health knowledge and high-risk behaviour. Findings from the study highlight the diversity of influence of religion has on the sexual health of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of life ( QOL) among mothers with a child with Down syndrome using The World Health Organization Quality of Life scale instrument. A convenience sample of 161 mothers was accessed through the various institutions which provide interventional or educational programmes to children with disabilities within two of the regions of the Borneo State of Malaysia ( Sarawak). Nearly half of the group of mothers perceived their QOL as neither poor nor good ( n = 73). An overall QOL score of 14.0 ± 1.84 was obtained. The highest and lowest domain scores were found for social relationship domain (Mean = 14.9 ± 2.1) and environmental support domain (Mean = 13.3 ± 2.1) respectively. Correlation analysis of selected background variables (i.e. locality, education, income and marital status) and overall QOL indicated rho (161) = 0.22-0.28 ( P < 0.01). Inverse correlation between maternal age and overall QOL score was indicated, with rho (161) = −0.17 ( P < 0.05). Linear regression analysis indicated that the combination of these few variables together accounted for 14.5% of the QOL variability in the sample. Findings point to implications for priorities of care provisions by policy-makers and care professionals in their practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

chang h.-y.a., wallis m. & tiralongo e. (2012) Predictors of complementary and alternative medicine use by people with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Advanced Nursing 68(6), 1256-1266. Abstract Aims. This paper is a report of a study into factors predicting complementary and alternative medicine use in people with type 2 diabetes. Background. The growing incidence of type 2 diabetes is emerging as a major health issue throughout the world. While the rate of complementary and alternative medicine use in this population is high, it is not clear what predicts its use, in this population. Methods. A cross-sectional survey, using a structured interview, was undertaken among people with type 2 diabetes attending diabetic clinics in three census regions in Taiwan, between July 2006 and February 2007. The survey instrument, derived from a review of Taiwanese and international literature, was developed using the Health Belief Model. Results. A total of 326 participants with type 2 diabetes were interviewed (87·4% response rate). In people with type 2 diabetes, complementary and alternative medicine use was associated with a history of its use, a positive attitude towards it, stronger health beliefs about diabetes and the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine in treating diabetes, a higher degree of self-care activities by the individual and a longer duration of diabetes. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that complementary and alternative medicine use in people with type 2 diabetes is influenced by people's experience, beliefs, attitudes towards complementary and alternative medicine, and their behaviour towards disease management rather than their demographic characteristics. Nurses and healthcare professionals should consider the patient's background, health history, health beliefs and cultural background when planning specific strategies designed to modify lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

tsai m.-c., tsai y.-f., hwang f.-m. & liu c.-y. (2011) Effectiveness of a brief intervention for managing hazardous drinking problems of inpatients in Taiwan. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(9), 2038-2046. Abstract Aims. This paper is a report of a randomized control trial undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of the Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use in Taiwanese inpatients with hazardous drinking patterns. Background. The Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use has been found to be as effective as medical and psychological treatments for individuals with alcohol use disorders in western countries. However, few studies have examined brief alcohol interventions for a Chinese population. Methods. Patients from the medical and surgical wards of a medical centre in northern Taiwan were enrolled if they had an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score >8. Participants were randomly assigned to the experimental group ( n = 47), which received the Brief Intervention, and the control group ( n = 48), which received no special psychosocial intervention except routine nursing care. Data were collected from February 2005 to March 2006 on hospitalized participants' demographic characteristics and alcohol use. Scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test were re-assessed over the telephone 6 months later by a trained assistant blinded to the treatment group. Results. The experimental group had a significantly higher mean improved Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score and better outcomes in all three dimensions of the test than the control group. Conclusions. The Brief Intervention for Alcohol Use is recommended for use in clinical settings to help Taiwanese inpatients with hazardous drinking patterns to improve their drinking problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the preliminary descriptive findings from an online survey commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing to ascertain members' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. There is a professional requirement for nurses to achieve competence in the delivery of spiritual care and to assess and meet the spiritual needs of their patients. Recently, the area of spirituality has come under criticism bringing into question the role of the nurse with regard to the provision of spiritual care. A descriptive online survey was conducted with all Royal College of Nursing members to obtain their perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in an attempt to identify what action they feel is required with regard to this aspect of nursing practice. An online survey consisting of a five-part questionnaire was developed incorporating the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. Members were asked to complete the survey during a three-week period in March 2010. Overall, 4054 Royal College of Nursing members responded, making this probably the largest UK survey ascertaining nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages were used to identify key findings. A Cronbach's alpha of 0·80 was obtained for the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. The preliminary analysis confirms that nurses across the full health economy in the United Kingdom consider spirituality to be a fundamental aspect of nursing. The findings indicate that nurses recognise that attending to the spiritual needs of patients enhances the overall quality of nursing care. However, despite all the attention given to the spiritual dimension, the majority of nurses still feel that they require more guidance and support from governing bodies to enable them to support and effectively meet their patients' spiritual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives. To assess the claim that conceptualisations of religion and spirituality should be grounded in theology, and acknowledge the global resurgence of religion. Background. Although there is widespread agreement in the nursing literature that 'spirituality' is a broader concept than 'religion,' and should be understood generically, this approximate consensus has occasionally been challenged. A recent paper by Barbara Pesut and colleagues argues that the generic view not only empties spirituality of powerful religious symbols and narratives, but underestimates the continuing social influence of religion, and its resurgence on a global scale. Accordingly, these authors suggest three principles for conceptualising spirituality and religion in health care, one of which is that conceptualisations should be grounded in philosophical and theological thinking, and should not ignore the global resurgence of religion. Method. Critical review. Conclusion. The Pesut principle privileges theology, disregarding other disciplines which theorise religion. Arguably, it privileges specifically Christian theology, the history of which suggests a politics of orthodoxy and an epistemology of authority and obedience. The global resurgence of religion is not, in fact, global, as the industrialised countries have experienced a marked shift towards secular-rational values; and the postindustrial phase of development is associated with self-expression values, which represent a challenge not merely to religious institutions (arguably an affirmation of 'spirituality') but to traditional elites and structures of all kinds. Finally, religion 'resurgent' is not an attractive model for health care, since many of its most obvious manifestations are incompatible with the ideology of health professionals. Relevance to clinical practice. In the secular societies of Europe, if not North America, there should be no expectation that nurses provide spiritual care. It is a requirement of the great separation between civil order and religion that the health services, as a public space, should remain thoroughly secular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast majority of contributions to the literature on spirituality in nursing make extravagant claims about transcendence, eternity, the numinous, higher powers, higher levels of existence, invisible forces, cosmic unity, the essence of humanity, or other supernatural concepts. Typically, these assertions are made without the support of argument or evidence; and, as a consequence, alternative ways of theorizing ‘spirituality’ have been closed off, while the lack of consistent scholarship has turned the topic into a metaphysical backwater. In this paper, I adopt a different premise, rejecting unsupported claims, and surveying the ‘spirituality’ terrain from a naturalistic and reductionist perspective. I argue that, if we rid ourselves of non-naturalistic assumptions, we will discover theoretical and clinical resources in health psychology, social psychology, neuropsychology, and pharmacopsychology – resources which confirm that it is possible to conceptualize the study of existential concerns, and how health professionals might respond to them, in a properly scientific manner. In order to illustrate the potential usefulness of these resources, I will take palliative care as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

koslander t. & arvidsson b. (2005) Journal of Advanced Nursing 51(6), 558–566 How the spiritual dimension is addressed in psychiatric patient–nurse relationships This paper reports a study describing nurses’ conceptions of how the spiritual dimension is addressed in psychiatric patient–nurse relationships. In psychiatric care, it is essential that patient–nurse relationships be built on a holistic view. In this context, nursing research shows that there is a lack of integration of the spiritual dimension. Twelve strategically selected psychiatric nurses were interviewed and analysed using a phenomenographic approach. The data were collected in 2003. The main findings were three descriptive categories: being a good carer, recognizing the spiritual dimension, and regarding the spiritual dimension as difficult to capture in patient–nurse relationships. The first descriptive category shows that nurses deal with spirituality by behaving as good carers. Those included in the second descriptive category reveal nurses who are aware of patients’ spiritual needs and who deal with these needs in different ways. The third descriptive category consists of conceptions revealing lack of knowledge of patients’ spiritual needs, both in abstract and real terms. Further research is needed to explore how patients describe their own spiritual needs, and how nursing staff can learn to be aware of and understand their own spirituality, thus enabling them to detect, discuss, clarify and deal with the concept of spirituality in patient–nurse relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a descriptive sketch of embodiment as experienced in the nursing encounter in an acute care setting, this paper examines aspects of the embodied encounter using the resources of the Christian, Reformed tradition. Offering or receiving nursing care has a spiritual dimension, and recognition of this allows care to be sensitive to and respectful of this dimension of human embodied experience. The encounter can be understood and lived out as (partially) sacramental, and understanding the sacramental quality of the health care encounter allows both nurse and client to offer and accept dependency without a loss of dignity or humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIM: This paper aims to answer the question: What competencies do professional nurses need to provide spiritual care? BACKGROUND: Nursing literature from The Netherlands shows little clarity on the qualities that nurses require to provide spiritual care. Although the international literature provides some practical guidance, it is far from conclusive on the required qualities of nurses. METHOD: A qualitative literature review was conducted to draw together information from the nursing literature in order to formulate nursing competencies. A format developed for higher nursing education in The Netherlands was used; this consists of description of a general domain, specific competencies, vignettes, key focus and objectives. RESULTS: The resulting competency profile has three core domains (awareness and use of self, spiritual dimensions of the nursing process, and assurance and quality of expertise) and six core competencies (handling one's own beliefs, addressing the subject, collecting information, discussing and planning, providing and evaluating, and, integrating into policy). DISCUSSION: Spirituality is a field in nursing that is still in its infancy. CONCLUSION: This literature review yields a competency profile that may help to structure future care, research and education in spiritual care by nurses. Implications of the work for future research and education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper explores the relationships that exist between the language used to describe spirituality within nursing and the appropriateness of constructing a universal definition acceptable to all individuals. ‘Spirituality’ is a term that is increasingly used in nursing but there may be problems about exactly what the term means and how it is interpreted and understood by both nurses and patients.Aim: The aim of the paper is to explore some of the commonly cited definitions to establish if the concept of spirituality could be termed ‘universal’.Method: This paper presents a discussion, based upon a literature review, of the nursing and health care databases, combined with manual searches. The review demonstrates how the term spirituality is being constructed within nursing suggesting that there are numerous definitions each with several layers of meaning.Findings: From the review the authors have developed ‘a spiritual taxonomy’ that may explain and accommodate the different layers of meaning found within nursing and health care definitions. At the extreme left there is a spirituality based on religious and theist ideals, while at the extreme right there is a spirituality based upon secular, humanistic, existential elements. A middle way is explained containing elements from both the left and right but not as fundamental or radical.Conclusion: The authors argue that because there are so many definitions with different layers of meanings, spirituality can imply different things depending upon an individual''s personal interpretation or worldview. The results of the review suggest nursing is constructing a ‘blanket’ definition of spirituality, which has a broad, almost inexhaustible set of defining characteristics. If this approach continues then there is a danger that the word may become so broad in meaning that it loses any real significance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Comments on Neil Henery's paper on constructions of spirituality in contemporary nursing theory. Risks inherent to the use of discourse analysis in studying spirituality; Criticism on the framing of the intellectual structure within which nursing theory is to be analyzed; Problem with Henery's treatment of specific texts.

Aim: To describe positive and negative spiritual responses to providing COVID‐related nursing care among nurses working in hospitals. Background: The COVID pandemic has intensified and publicised the threats to nurse well‐being. Absent from the recommendations for promoting nurse well‐being is recognition of how nurses' spirituality and/or religiosity is affected by the strain of COVID caring or how it may be affecting their well‐being. Design: Cross‐sectional, descriptive observational, mixed methods study. Methods: Data were collected from 523 registered nurses employed in three Southern California hospitals during March–May, 2022 when these hospitals' COVID case counts were <15%. Using Online survey methods, data were obtained using the Religious/Spiritual Struggles Scale–Short Form, Moral Injury Symptom Scale–Healthcare Professionals, Post‐traumatic Growth Inventory and demographic and work‐related items. STROBE guidelines for cross‐sectional observational studies were observed. Results: The mean for religious/spiritual struggles was 1.98 (range of 1–5, comparable to a little bit). Although roughly half of the sample reported the struggles were not experienced/did not apply, 23%–36.5% reported experiencing these struggles at least somewhat. The most frequent struggle was to find ultimate meaning. The mean observed for moral injury was 6.5 (range of 1–10); applying established criteria indicated it was troubling for at least 50%. The mean for post‐traumatic growth was 4 (on a scale of 0–6); using established criteria, 41% experienced PTG. Quantitative findings were illustrated by the qualitative responses that occasionally expressed spiritual tragedy and transformation concurrently. Conclusion: The professional work of nursing impacts nurses in invisible, spiritual ways that can be tragic and/or transformative. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Interventions to address nurses' mental health challenges must include attention to these invisible struggles. Nurses' mental health challenges must be met in part by addressing how they can surmount spiritual tragedy—and allow spiritual transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: In response to the impact of religious intervention on health outcomes and the importance of documenting how nurses experience the spiritual need of 392 hospitalized patients, it is vital to provide the nursing profession with instruments to evaluate these spiritual aspects. This study describes the development and validation of the Nursing Care and Religious Diversity Scale (NCRDS); (2) Methods: A two-step design was used for NCRDS translation and psychometric validation. The tool design was developed in the first step, while the psychometric characteristics were tested in the second step. An inductive study was conducted to test the validity and reliability of the NCRDS tool. The overall sample consisted of 317 nurses; (3) Results: The final instrument comprised 25 items in five dimensions. The construct validity indicated five dimensions. The face and content validity were adequate. Test-retest reliability displayed good stability, and internal consistency (Cronbach's α) was acceptable (0.83); (4) Conclusions: Initial testing of the NCRDS suggested that it is a valid and reliable instrument to evaluate individuals in religious diversity, with five dimensions for evaluating the meaning of spirituality and individual belief, the religious healthcare environment, educational adequacy, spiritual and religious needs, and religious plurality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the findings from research named "Traditional and spiritual care practices in a Nahua, indigenous community" (García, 2015; García Piña, Cardoso Gómez, Serrano Sánchez & Ostiguín Meléndez, 2015), in which spirituality elements were identified as coping strategies for the health-disease-death processes. Those results were complemented with a documental review. Objective: to claim on the caring strategies, on a specific social, cultural and historical context, that promotes the improvement of the nursing practice in the Mexican context. Method: theoretical-inductive documentary analysis. Results: communities are built from common goals and objectives, which arise as health-disease-death processes in its own particular perspective. Conclusion: nursing has as one of its main functions, to rescue people's individual and collective response, for coping with every life situation; allowing that care itself, becomes a mutual feedback exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major mother of the Holy Well hospital-sanctorum fulfilled a transcendental paper in the maintenance of that institution. Even exceeded its functions, proposing, suggesting and making proposals even without the permission of his patronage that was the Brotherhood of the Mercy that was directing the Pious House of analogous name. The free interference of the major mother in the management of Holly Well often allowed by the Mercy provoked for the bishopric the first problem of consideration as the dismissal of the major mother Feliciana of Holy Teresa and chaplain at the request of vicar the Brotherhood of Mercy obeyed in 1737. However, soon after the incident, the same major mother proposed by the vicar resumed her leadership role absolutely necessary to maintain the Pozo Santo and the brotherhood of Mercy understood and accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To compare the frequency of nurse‐provided spiritual care across diverse cultures. Background: Given an ethical imperative to respect patient spirituality and religiosity, nurses are increasingly taught and expected to provide spiritual care. Although nurses report positive attitudes toward spiritual care, they typically self‐report providing it infrequently. Evidence about the reported frequency of spiritual care is constrained by substantial variation in its measurement. Design: This cross‐sectional, descriptive study involved secondary analysis of data collected in multiple sites globally using one quantitative instrument. Methods: Data were collected from practicing nurses using the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale and analysed using descriptive statistics and a meta‐analysis procedure with random‐effect modelling. Datasets from 16 studies completed in Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, Portugal, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States contributed to a pooled sample (n = 4062). STROBE guidelines for cross‐sectional observational studies were observed. Results: Spiritual care varied between countries and within countries. It was slightly more frequent within Islamic cultures compared with predominantly Christian cultures. Likewise, frequency of spiritual care differed between nurses in palliative care, predominantly hospital/inpatient settings, and skilled nursing homes. Overall, "Remaining present..." was the most frequent therapeutic, whereas documenting spiritual care and making arrangements for the patient's clergy or a chaplain to visit were among the most infrequent therapeutics. Conclusions: In widely varying degrees of frequency, nurses around the world provide care that is cognisant of the spiritual and religious responses to living with health challenges. Future research should be designed to adjust for the multiple factors that may contribute to nurses providing spiritual care. Relevance to clinical practice: Findings offer a benchmark and begin to inform nurse leaders about what may be normative in practice. They also encourage nurses providing direct patient care that they are not alone and inform educators about what instruction future nurses require. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the process of surviving child abuse in people with a mental illness in order to develop an explanatory theory. The study utilized the grounded theory approach. Seventeen community-dwelling adults with a mental illness who had experienced child abuse were interviewed. For the in-depth interview, the lifeline interview method was used. Data were collected from July 14, 2019, to February 28, 2020. The constant comparative method was used for analysis, to identify similarities and differences between different statements, and similar phenomena or theories were compared and analyzed continuously. The central phenomena were "losing oneself" and "in a precarious state." Participants used "expressing," "standing on one's own feet," and "avoiding" as coping strategies. Observed outcomes were "making life work for them" and "living with others." The core category was "losing myself, embracing myself as someone in a precarious state, and being reborn as the master of my life." Positive religious coping, having a supportive network, and emotional or physical distance from difficult situations played a major role in surviving participants' experiences of child abuse and being victimized because of their mental illness. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for understanding people with mental illness who have survived child abuse, and suggest that opportunities for sharing their stories, facilitating self-reliance, and avoiding the causes of their difficulties all play a role in their healing process. Based on this study, it is expected that clinical experts and policy developers will be able to formulate evidence-based interventions and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AimThis paper examines HIV-infected Asian Americans' experiences with religion throughout the course of their illness and their family relationships.BackgroundAs the number of Asians in the United States continues to grow, health professionals are beginning notice obvious gaps of knowledge in caring for this population, including HIV-infected individuals. Little is known about the impact of religion and faith on Asian Americans with HIV and their families. The study focuses on the participants' reported experiences to understand the variety of roles religion can play in the progression of a highly stigmatized chronic disease.MethodsAn in-depth interview was conducted in San Francisco and New York City with 30 HIV-infected Asians. Narrative samples and summarized responses was used to highlight themes that emerged from the participants' anecdotes. Interpretive content analysis was employed.ResultsThese groups were categorized as (a) those who did not adhere to any religion, (b) those of tenuous religious faith with conflicted feelings, and (c) those of strong religious faith with congruent beliefs. Within these three groups, various themes were synthesized from the members' perceptions and past experiences with religion. Within each group, participants displayed various stages of reconciliation with their current faith-related beliefs and escape the family stress from their religion practices. Each participant's story shown the vast range of human understanding and faith experiences including self-actualization, acculturation, and depression.ConclusionsThis research provides new insight on the challenge of managing HIV-infected patients in a culturally and religiously appropriate manner.

Purpose: Unrelieved pain among hospitalized children is a common problem that affects all aspects of children's health and their quality of life. Cultural and language differences between nurses and patients have been shown to impact the quality and safety of nursing care and management for children with pain. The aim of this study was to identify the cultural factors, barriers, and facilitators impacting the assessment and management of children's pain by expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia. Design and Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was employed in this study. A sample of 16 nurses was conveniently recruited and interviewed through face‐to‐face semistructured interviews. Each interview lasted between 30 and 60 min and was audio‐recorded. Content analysis was used to analyze the transcripts. Transcripts were carefully read, significant statements were highlighted, coded, categorized, and clustered thematically. Results: Three main themes were identified, namely, (I) low priority of children's pain, (II) culture and religious challenges, and (III) communication challenges. Practice Implications: Cultural and language differences described by expatriate nurses hindered their care of children with pain. A systematic education for expatriate nurses, children, and families is urgently needed to enhance inter/cross‐cultural understandings and improve childcare in Saudi Arabia. This study identifies the unique challenges faced by expatriate nurses in Saudi Arabia. The findings reveal how a lack of knowledge about cultural values and beliefs can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts between nurses, children, and families and can have an impact on childcare and pain. It also highlights the need to improve pain management practices in multicultural healthcare settings, similar to those of Saudi Arabia and neighboring Arab nations, and across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spirituality is a dimension of life and the human being that should be included in holistic healthcare. One major barrier often described by nurses on implementing spirituality in practice relates to perceiving the concept of spirituality as subjective and sharing confounding similarities with other concepts. In this sense, the concepts of spiritual comfort, spiritual care, and spiritual support may require more distinct theoretical definitions aimed at clear and effective nursing interventions within spiritual care. Aim: To provide a definition of spiritual comfort, spiritual support, and spiritual care. Methods: Simultaneous concept analysis (SCA) of three concepts according to Haase et al., which is grounded on Rodgers' evolutionary view. The method was based on a literature review with the search of electronic databases on May 2020. Search and analysis have been blinded conducted by two reviewers. Results: One hundred thirty‐six studies were included in the SCA. Findings suggest that spiritual comfort is an immediate state and an outcome. Spiritual support is related with an intimate and positive relationship with God. Spiritual care is defined as a complex and interactive process. Both spiritual support and spiritual care are grounded in a therapeutic context. Conclusion: This SCA allowed the attributes of each concept to be identified and provides definitions that may facilitate the understanding of these concepts and promote the implementation of spirituality in nursing practice, but which has also led to future research on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality is a common theme in the field of healthcare research. This study aimed to examine nurses' perceptions of spirituality in the context of the religious diversity of patients in pluri-religious settings. We performed a scoping review following the methodology on studies conducted between 2010 and 2020. We searched the following databases: CINAHL Plus, PubMed, and PsycINFO. For the identification of grey literature, the OpenGrey database was used. In total, 789 articles were reviewed. Of these, 16 met predetermined inclusion criteria. Two main overarching themes emerged from our inductive analysis: (a) the intertwining of spirituality and spiritual care in diverse religious landscapes and (b) obstacles impeding the inclusion of spiritual care in pluri-religious settings. According to our results, nurses consider that spirituality is interconnected with spiritual care for individuals from different religious backgrounds. Interpretations of spirituality in nursing practice vary widely, with spirituality and religiosity often shaped and influenced by culture and the experience of the professionals. Nurses attribute various meanings to spiritual care, most of which center on respecting personal, interpersonal, and relational aspects of religious and cultural beliefs and practices. Lack of education and specific skills, insufficient time, role ambiguity, and different religious beliefs were identified as hurdles to spiritual care. A poor work environment, a lack of patient privacy, including personal space, and a lack of compassion were also reported as deterrents to spiritual healing. More knowledge and training on different religions and spirituality are required to meet patients' spiritual needs to better overcome these hurdles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To examine the characteristics of spirituality as expressed by persons of colour living with serious illness. Background: Spiritual, Religious and Existential Care, as specified in the National Consensus Project (NCP) Guidelines, is a core domain of palliative nursing. Design of the study: A constructionist approach to narrative analysis was used for this study and reported in accordance with the COREQ guideline. Methods: In‐depth narrative interviews were conducted with 20 participants. These participants included persons of colour living with serious illness who were admitted to an acute‐care hospital. Through a deductive coding approach, a codebook was created based on a broad definition of spirituality including: religion, self, family, community, nature and art/music/literature. Results: The major themes expressed were religion, self and family. Subthemes of religion included increased faith, support of the church community and God's intervention in patients' lives. Subthemes of self included increased self‐worth, self‐awareness of one's place in the world and individualised transition to new meaning in life. Subthemes of family included family adding meaning and purpose to their lives, family as an important source of strength and support, wanting to regain their health to go back to caring for their families, and believing that their illness had brought their family closer together. Conclusion: The thematic analysis revealed a broader existential aspect of what brought value, meaning and purpose into their lives, despite their progressive physical illness. More research is needed to understand spiritual, religious or existential needs of persons of colour living with serious illness and how nurses can best support these needs. By understanding the components of spirituality, nurses can learn to recognise the signs of spiritual distress. This awareness also helps to know when a spiritual specialist is needed—either the patient's own spiritual guide(s) or the hospital chaplain. Nurses can also use spiritual assessment tools when performing a general assessment on the patient. Relevance to clinical practice: By understanding the components of spirituality, nurses can learn to recognise the signs of spiritual distress. This awareness also helps to know when a spiritual specialist is needed—either the patient's own spiritual guide(s) or the hospital chaplain. Nurses can also use spiritual assessment tools when performing a general assessment on the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality is recognised as a fundamental aspect of health and nursing care. Yet, there are few studies exploring how this concept may be understood outside of Western culture. This scoping review seeks to address this omission by focusing specifically on research conducted with Chinese populations. This is important because people from Chinese backgrounds (PBC) are now residing all over the world, and their spirituality and spiritual needs should be considered when providing healthcare. Adopting a purely generalist understanding and application of spirituality may not capture the cultural difference that exists between the East and West. This scoping review adopted Arksey and O'Malley's method to focus on spirituality and spiritual care among PBC in health and nursing. The systematic strategy was adopted and used to search the main databases in health and nursing. Eighteen (n = 18) empirical studies were included in the review: 11 qualitative studies and seven quantitative involving 1870 participants. The scoping review revealed that in the Chinese understanding of spirituality is an abstract and personal concept which can refer to an internal vital force, experiences of suffering, and traditional Chinese cultural and religious values. As the multidimensional understanding of spirituality and spiritual care may cause confusion, these findings may provide a direction for the researchers emphasising the need for cultural and religious sensitivity when understanding of spirituality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four key themes are explored in this third issue of the Journal of Religion and Health for 2022: (1) the lead topic for this issue considers the work and spiritual care provided by nurses, which is followed by a series of articles on the subject areas of (2) diabetes and (3) hemodialysis. Then, like previous issues, we again consider (4) research exploring the effects of COVID-19. Finally, this issue presents a miscellaneous collection of articles with respect to various faith dynamics and the findings from several national surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to identify the effects of the subfactors of self‐compassion on hospital nurse burnout and provide basic knowledge for an intervention programme to prevent nurse burnout. Background: Burnout in nurses has been reported to influence their own and patients' mental health and safety. Enhancing self‐compassion can help to prevent burnout. Methods: This study involved descriptive research using a cross‐sectional design. Data were collected at H University Hospital in Korea, from January to March 2020. Of the 213 questionnaires collected, 208 were included in data analysis. Results: Burnout was higher when nurses were younger, unmarried, in poor health, general nurses, dissatisfied with their jobs, planning to leave their jobs or receiving low social support from peers. There was a negative correlation between burnout and the self‐compassion subscales. Multiple regression analysis showed that isolation and mindfulness among self‐compassion, were significantly related to burnout. Conclusions: Since individual variables and self‐compassion are major elements impacting nurse burnout, it is important for nursing organizations to investigate nurses' individual variables, including subfactors of self‐compassion, to help them prevent burnout. Implications for Nursing Management: Nurse burnout might be prevented by increasing self‐compassion. Hospital and nurse managers may employ individualized strategies to enhance nurses' self‐compassion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]