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The practice of spiritual care in health has included the goal of addressing the spiritual needs of healthcare staff. Spiritual-care practitioners have had some difficulty in fulfilling this goal, which has created the need for innovative approaches. Two approaches designed to address the spiritual and existential needs of staff are Value-Based Reflective Practice (VBRP) and Schwartz Rounds. Schwartz Rounds are a regular whole-hospital meeting where staff are invited to share and discuss the social and emotional aspects of their work. They are an evidence-based intervention to reduce psychological distress and improve staff wellbeing. This paper seeks to explore the role of spiritual care practitioners in addressing the spiritual and existential needs of staff. It then explores the synergy of these roles with the theory and practice of the above approaches, with a particular emphasis on Schwartz Rounds. The paper is grounded in the experience of the authors collaborating to establish Schwartz Rounds in a large and culturally diverse hospital while also playing a leadership role in the establishment and sustainability of Schwartz programmes in other settings.

Background:Spiritual care is a vital aspect of the nursing process, particularly for palliative patients such as those with Coronary heart disease. While pharmacological and medical interventions remain paramount for managing heart conditions, the efficacy of Islamic spiritual therapy with Murottal has also been significant. Research has demonstrated its notable influence on patients' quality of life, particularly in mitigating anxiety and depression. Objective:This study aims to conduct a systematic review to explore the role of Islamic spirituality in nursing, specifically through Murottal recitations, and its impact on anxiety and depression among Coronary heart disease patients. Method:Employing a systematic review design, we utilized various electronic databases including PubMed, ProQuest, Science Direct, DOAJ, Wiley, Garuda, and secondary PubMed-indexed sources from 2018 to 2023. Inclusion criteria comprised studies with a clear definition of spiritual care involving Murottal in nursing, confirmed Coronary heart disease diagnoses, and reporting outcomes such as the incidence of death, cardiovascular outcomes, and quality of life. Result:The search focused on examining the correlation between Islamic spiritual care with Murottal and the quality of life in patients with coronary heart disease. Following a rigorous methodology, which included study selection, critical appraisal, data extraction, and synthesis, the search yielded 1,286 articles, with seven meeting the inclusion criteria. Analysis and categorization of these articles based on evidence level and recommendations revealed a consistent association between Islamic spiritual care with Murottal and reduced anxiety and depression in Coronary heart disease patients. However, heterogeneity was observed in research instruments, implementation duration, and outcomes. Conclusion:The conclusive evidence from this review supports the notion that Islamic spiritual care, particularly through Murottal recitations, significantly impacts the quality of life among Coronary heart disease patients. Keywords: Anxiety, Coronary Heart Disease, Depression, Murottal, Spiritual Care

Pastoral theological scholarship on moral injury has not yet fully metabolized the liberative trajectory of pastoral theological discourse. To date, the care of those who come home from war remains largely depoliticized. This article argues that the wounds of war are personal and political and that care requires attending to the political dimension. The first section of the article sets the current pastoral theology conversation around moral injury within the historical context of the field around the care of veterans and the depoliticized nature of the clinical literature. The second section of the article argues the liberative trajectory of the field provides not only a basis for a robustly political response but also sets of relevant conceptual categories and care resources for veterans. The third section takes up Ryan LaMothe's concept of "unconventional warriorism" as a basis for reimagining the political agency of soldiers and veterans. The article concludes by sketching out a broad proposal for the integration of politics and care for veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The REBOOT First Responders program offers spiritual care for occupational stress. Although prior work suggests benefits to the program, no research has considered attendees' experiences in an open-ended way. The aim of this study was to document first responders' thoughts about the effectiveness, evaluation, and effects of the course in their own words. Interviews with 36 graduates living in the U.S. indicated favorable perceptions of the course. Reasons for success included the program's tangible benefits, community atmosphere, and faith-based approach (RQ1). Strengths involved helping first responders realize they are not alone and educating them about trauma; recommended upgrades involved customizing to specific occupations and offering ongoing support (RQ2). Effects included more self-acceptance, enhanced spirituality, better relationships, a more constructive view of trauma, and greater optimism about the future (RQ3). These results have implications for improving spiritual care for first responders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the Attachment Mapping Protocol (AMP), which is an assessment and treatment tool for use in individual psychotherapy, systemic family therapy and multifaith spiritual care, using a bio-psycho-social-spiritual model of care. Attachment theory has a long and significant history in psychology, with an evolving relationship within the above clinical domains. A central aim of this paper will be to recognize and affirm the extension of attachment theory beyond the traditional parameters of nascent parental, guardianship bonds and individual, developmental psychology, to reveal a much broader spectrum of valid attachment considerations for mental health and spiritual well-being. A case study will be applied to the interviewing instrument to demonstrate its utility for broadening assessment beyond attachment figures to include surrogate attachments of other persons, places and things. A model of spiritual discernment derived from the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola will undergird this larger worldview of attachment considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues in favor of introducing chaplaincy care at asylum centers and develops three arguments for doing so. First, chaplaincy is one way to protect the right to health of refugees and to improve their spiritual well-being. The positive contribution of chaplaincy services to mental health care is increasingly recognized, especially in the domain of PTSD. Second, chaplaincy services support asylum seekers in exercising their freedom of religion while entrusted to state care. Chaplains can create a safe space for asylum seekers to reflect on their spiritual and religious needs, orientation and belonging. Third, chaplains are well positioned to help asylum seekers in rebuilding their life-sustaining web, while at the same time promoting a climate of inclusion and respect in and outside the asylum center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health-care system around the world has recognized the importance and usefulness of spirituality in the delivery of care. The goal of this study was to describe nurses' self-perceived ability in providing spiritual care to patients in Intensive Care Units, as well as to look into the relationship between demographic variables and their competencies. The researchers used a descriptive correlation design. There were 106 surveys distributed in total. Two large hospitals in Jouf, Saudi Arabia, had an 83.01% response rate. The self-reported questionnaire was completed by 88 nurses. The majority of nurses said they were capable of providing spiritual care to patients of the Islamic faith. Religions had statistically significant mean Spiritual Care Competency scores. It is critical to have a unified health strategy based on multidisciplinary collaborations to control spiritual care delivery, particularly in Intensive Care Units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article represents the first field-wide treatment of American Jewish chaplains. As fewer Jews, like members of all religious backgrounds in the USA, are religiously affiliated and regularly join or participate in local congregations, Jews and other Americans will likely find ways to address their spiritual–religious needs outside of congregational life, in settings such as hospitals, military, universities, elder care, and other settings where "life happens." Chaplains are religious professionals who work in these settings. While many people have done the work of chaplains—caring for others, attending to the dying, helping people engage with their spiritual–existential struggles—the evolution of those who consider themselves Jewish chaplains and their wrestling with the term chaplain, itself Christian, is at the center of the analyses offered here. We begin with a brief historical overview and then describe their work today. Our analysis is based on a series of historical and sociological inquiries carried out in 2021–2022. In the face of largely Protestant norms and expectations that shaped chaplaincy, American Jews—who made up the first non-Christian clergy to become chaplains in state and private settings—have engaged with and shifted the concept of chaplaincy and the training required to be eligible for these positions. The case of Jewish chaplains illuminates ways of navigating the seams of Jewishness in American life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiritual care helps nurses establish a deeper connection with patients and meet their spiritual needs. Spiritual belief is thought to enable nurses to be more effective in their profession and positively affect their quality of life. This study aimed to investigate the effects of nurses' spirituality and spiritual care on quality of life. This study was designed as a descriptive cross‐sectional study using structural equation modeling. A total of 221 nurses were included. Data were collected using the Professional Quality of Life Scale, and Spirituality and Spiritual Care Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlational statistics, and structural equation modeling. Spirituality and spiritual care were negative predictors of burnout and positive predictors of compassion satisfaction. Spirituality and spiritual care decreased the level of burnout in nurses and significantly increased the level of compassion satisfaction. This study suggests raising nurse awareness of spirituality and spiritual care. Supporting nurses with professional training programs, including spiritual care, may benefit their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a Turkish validity and reliability study of the Palliative Care Spiritual Care Competency Scale. Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 354 nurses. In the first stage, the forward–backward translation method was used to develop the Turkish version of the Palliative Care Spiritual Care Competency Scale. The comprehensibility, purposefulness, cultural appropriateness, and discrimination of the scale items were evaluated with content validity. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied to examine the construct validity of the scale. To evaluate the ability of the scale to give consistent results at different time intervals, the relationship between the scores obtained from the first and second applications was examined with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The reliability of the scale was evaluated with the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient and item-total score correlation coefficients. Results: The content validity index of the Palliative Care Spiritual Care Competency Scale was found to be 0.98 after expert opinion was obtained. The goodness-of-fit values of the scale were χ 2/sd: 3.125; GFI: 0.915; AGFI: 0.875; IFI: 0.926; TLI: 0.905; CFI: 0.925; RMSEA: 0.078; SRMR: 0.054. As a result of CFA, some items were removed from the scale, and a Turkish version of the scale consisting of 14 items and three sub-dimensions was developed. The reliability of the scale over time was evaluated with the test-retest method, and it was found that the inter-response agreement was very good (ICC: 0.981; p  < 0.001). The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of the scale was 0.89 and the Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of the subscales ranged between 0.78 and 0.85. Significance of results: It was determined that the Turkish version of the Palliative Care Spiritual Care Competency Scale is a short, easy-to-understand, and psychometrically sound measurement tool that can be safely applied to Turkish nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chaplain's role, as perceived by chaplains, is well-studied. The ways in which care-recipients understand the chaplain's role is not. This article analyzes interviews with 38 people who interacted with chaplains. We find that respondents understood the chaplain's job to be multidimensional. We describe this multidimensionality through a "jobs to be done" framework showing that chaplains offer social listening, emotional comfort, and functional practical religious support. From the perspective of care recipients, religion defines the master status of chaplains, a perspective different from that of chaplains themselves. Respondents felt that religion was the least ambiguous part of their interaction with a chaplain. These findings complicate scholarly and personal narratives that center "presence" rather than religion when talking about chaplaincy and spiritual care. We suggest that chaplains could mitigate professional identity tensions by centering desires for religious and spiritual care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Care for the sick, including spiritual support is sometimes called holistic medicine. The term bio-psycho-social-spiritual model is sometimes used to describe this type of therapeutic approach patient-oriented medicine. This report indicates the importance of taking into account the spiritual aspect of life due to its beneficial impact on the coping resources activated and the patient's well-being. Existential and spiritual issues are on the verge of new clinical and research interest in medicine, especially in gerontology, oncology, and palliative care. Clinicians focus not only on symptom control but also on spiritual and existential issues such as spirituality, hope, and meaning. This paper reviews the topic of spirituality in the context of illness and end-of-life care trying to define spirituality within the context of health resources of the subject. Spirituality is perceived in two of its main components: faith/religious beliefs and spiritual well-being. Especially this second construct is reviewed and described as a health resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore and gain a broader understanding of residents' viewpoints and experiences of spiritual care when living in a nursing home. Design: A qualitative hermeneutical interview study inspired by Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. Methods: Thirty‐eight individual interviews of 14 male and 24 female residents; of these, 24 had a dementia diagnosis. The setting was one large Norwegian nursing home providing long‐term care. FACIT‐Sp‐12 was used as a guide for the interview, in addition to two open‐ended questions about thriving and spiritual care. Findings: The older residents' voices portray a broad and diverse understanding of spiritual care, and four themes emerged: (1) Spiritual at‐homeness, (2) Spiritual awareness, (3) Philosophy of life and (4) Interconnectedness. Conclusion: Accepting one's life situation in a nursing home can foster a feeling of belonging, leading to feeling more at‐home. Spiritual well‐being, including finding purpose, spiritual awareness and beliefs, was found to be interconnected with spiritual at‐homeness in the nursing home. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: This study provides insights into older nursing home residents' viewpoints on spiritual care, including persons living with dementia. Impact: The study addressed the limited evidence regarding how older residents themselves experience and express spiritual care. Listening to older nursing home residents' voices provides a unique contribution to the research field. As several individuals with dementia contributed to the findings, this study mirrors the current population of residents in nursing homes. The findings may inform healthcare provision and policymakers and impact upon spiritual care in the field of older people nursing and dementia care services. Reporting Method: The COREQ guideline. Patient or Public Contribution: Participation through interviews of nursing home residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurses have a crucial role in identifying spiritual needs and providing spiritual care to patients living with cancer. Aim: This study evaluated Iranian oncology nurses' spiritual care competence and its relationship with job satisfaction and moral distress. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 280 Iranian oncology nurses in 2020 using four questionnaires: demographic questionnaires, the Spiritual Care Competence Questionnaire (SCCQ), the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) and the nurses' Moral Distress Questionnaire (MDS-R). Findings: The mean scores indicated a medium to high Spiritual Care Competence (SCC), mild to moderate moral distress and high job satisfaction. There was a positive correlation between SCC and external job satisfaction (r=184, p<0.05) and a negative correlation between SCC and moral distress (r=-0.356, p<0.05). Conclusions: SCC diminishes with decreasing external job satisfaction and increasing moral distress. To improve the SCC of nurses working with patients living with cancer, it is recommended that nursing managers and policymakers revise the organisational policies to tackle the obstacles and consider the related factors to provide an ethical climate, implement quality spiritual care and increase job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spiritual care research, studies on military chaplaincy are underrepresented, and most available studies center on moral injury. This article contributes to the existing literature on spiritual care in the military by presenting a study of 13 case descriptions of spiritual care provision by military chaplains from the Netherlands. These were analyzed using the framework method, a qualitative method of systematically searching for patterns in data sets, in order to answer the question: How do military chaplains contribute to the moral resilience of soldiers and veterans experiencing moral stress? The analytical framework was constructed on the basis of Doehring's (Pastoral Psychology, 64(5), 635–649, 2015) conceptual understanding of moral resilience as the outcome of processes of spiritual integration of moral stress in caregiving relationships. This study shows that soldiers experience moral stress when core values associated with 'being a soldier' conflict with expectations or actions of soldiers themselves or of others, with the way the military organization functions, or with the spiritual notion of 'being a good, loving and loveworthy human being'. In their responses to moral stress, chaplains contribute to moral resilience by engaging in co-creating spiritual orienting frameworks which accommodate a sense of goodness of self and others and allow for nuanced, biographically rooted moral views. Soldiers experience conversations and brief encounters with chaplains as relational 'moments of goodness', which may also contribute to moral resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spiritual care is an obligatory aspect of nursing care for a patient at the end of life and plays an important role in providing quality nursing care. This study aimed to describe the level of spiritual care competence and caring abilities of Polish nurses and to examine the relationship between them. Participants and methods: In the study based on the Caring Ability Inventory (CAI) and the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (SCCS) questionnaires descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional design was adopted. The study involved 451 clinical nurses. Results: Respondents’ overall score of SCCS was high (median = 101.22; mean = 103.00; SD = 17.14) and low in the overall score of CAI (median = 185.44; mean = 185.00; SD = 21.05). The respondents who believe that nurses should assess the patient’s spiritual needs obtained statistically higher scores in all subscales and the overall score of SCCS and CAI. The total score of spiritual care competence was also positively correlated with the level of caring abilities (p < 0.01). The caring abilities and competencies to provide spiritual care of Polish nurses correlate, among others, with their age, professional experience, level of education and job satisfaction. Conclusions: The implementation by academic teachers and nursing managers of strategies promoting patient-centred nursing care and humanistic values will contribute to strengthening the caring abilities of nurses and the skills to provide spiritual care to patients, especially in the most basic human experience of dying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spirituality is an integral part of holistic care, but studies have revealed that the spiritual dimension of care is largely neglected in healthcare settings. This study evaluated midwives' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. The study is a cross-sectional design and was conducted from April 1 to June 30, 2018 in Aydın, Turkey. The research sample of the study contacted 101 midwives. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale were used to collect data. It was found that the midwives' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care were affected by age, having children, family type, and working unit (p < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The value of spiritual care training for all staff working in health and aged care has been demonstrated. This study investigated how spiritual care specialists (SCSs) perceive their role in delivering spiritual care education to other staff. Fourteen SCSs participated in three online focus groups. Two key themes were identified: First, SCSs build upon existing capacity of staff by: (i) recognising existing strengths and capabilities; (ii) using relevant stories; (iii) using language which makes spiritual care accessible; (iv) making training relevant and practical; (v) tapping into staff vocation or calling; and (vi) building awareness of one's own spirituality. Second, SCSs assist staff to draw upon SCS expertise by establishing a trusting relationship and developing staff awareness of the SCS role. The SCS's role in delivering spiritual care education is an important one, and further consideration regarding how to support them in this role is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to current consensus definitions in healthcare, religious aspects can be part of "spirituality" but "spirituality" is open to non-religious traditions as well. Nevertheless, spiritual care is often provided by theologically trained pastoral caregivers belonging to religious groups and institutional bodies. How, then, do we take "religion(s)" into account when pastoral and spiritual care finds itself within a context of a diversity of religions and religious and non-religious biographies? What function does "confessionality" have—except for the fact that spiritual care professions can also be educated at a theological faculty and thus graduates are familiar with confessional premises of the respective denomination institutions? What significance do these premises have as a basis or a target for research and the fields of action and for the self-understanding of chaplains or spiritual caregivers? Our contribution draws attention to the potential for the reflection on "religion" to inform an understanding of its role in healthcare. In this regard, the term "spirituality" needs some reflection as well. When investing in such clarification, we understand that "religion" and "confessionality" need to be considered with the idea of inherent principles or even as a principle and, thus, are valuable in view of the practice of pastoral and spiritual care. These theoretical reflections are developed on the one hand by comparison with confessional religious education in pluralistic contexts, and on the other hand from systematic theology, specifically with Paul Tillich's idea of a "Protestant principle" as an open-minded way to bring together pluralistic challenges and the religious identity in pastoral or spiritual care encounters. Preoccupation with these terms as concepts is not only necessary but valuable to encounter the other individual with respect and sincere interest and thus opens up his or her individual access to the world and life and the inherent principles in a resource-building way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, in response to a growing awareness of the impacts of humanitarian crises on mental health and psychosocial well-being, leading UN agencies and international aid organisations have developed a comprehensive framework for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS). In more recent years, aid workers have further begun to consider religious life as a central factor in mental health and psychosocial well-being, viewing "faith" as an important, but often neglected, component of empowering and "locally appropriate" MHPSS. However, the attempt to deliver "faith-sensitive" MHPSS across the highly pluralistic settings of international humanitarian intervention has entailed protracted ethical and practical challenges. In this article, we argue that these challenges may be usefully understood in terms of three areas of concern: the lack of evidence on effective interventions; the risk of reproducing problematic power dynamics between MHPSS providers and receivers; and the challenge of articulating a cross-culturally relevant paradigm of "faith-sensitivity" comprehensible across a wide range of religiously diverse settings. This article contributes to these challenges by drawing on the field of professional spiritual care to suggest areas of potential contribution and interdisciplinary dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, there is limited theoretical clarity on the nature of Islamic spiritual care, which is a developing discipline around the world. How it is defined will be instrumental for spiritual care institutions, professionals and recipients of spiritual care in the years to come. This article wishes to understand and explore the idea and vision behind Islamic spiritual care and why this line of investigation may be of importance to care providers with different faith backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High rates of firearm injury among urban Black men in the US can lead to long physical and psychological recovery times, worsened by limited access to mental health services. Spirituality can propel positive thoughts, actions, perceptions and behaviors about self and others yet how it is used among Black men recovering from firearm injury is underexplored. This study examined the role of spirituality in the recovery of Black male survivors of firearm injury. Ten injured urban Black men in Philadelphia were interviewed using descriptive phenomenology. A subset of participants from the Emotional Responses and Recovery from Injury in Urban Black Men study who agreed to be recontacted for future studies were enrolled. Informed consent was obtained, semi-structured interviews were conducted via phone and were audiotaped, transcribed, and de-identified. Thematic content analysis was used to understand perceptions of spirituality and to identify spiritual coping behavior themes. Findings suggest that injured urban Black men engaged in theistic and non-theistic spiritual activities that resulted in positive character development, reduced risk of re-injury, hope, improved mental health and social bonds. Spirituality may serve as a protective factor against firearm re-injury or retaliation by promoting desired behaviors and mental health among injured urban Black men. Combining culturally sensitive spiritual resources and psychotherapy may lead to effective trauma-informed care in addressing spiritual and existential challenges of injured urban Black men who may find spirituality important. • Spirituality helps Black male survivors of firearm injury cope with trauma. • Urban Black men benefit from spiritual activities during recovery. • Spiritual coping can enhance the ability of Black men to deal with mental health symptoms. • Spiritual coping skills promote social cohesion and safety. • Spirituality empowers and builds resilience in injured Black men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasingly, hospitals are expected to provide patient-centered care that attends to patients' health needs, including spiritual care needs. Chaplaincy services help to meet patients' spiritual care needs, which have been shown to have a positive impact on health outcomes. Variation in the provision of chaplaincy services suggests hospitals do not uniformly conform to the expectation of making chaplaincy services available. Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the availability and factors that influence hospitals' provision of chaplaincy services. Methodology: Data were combined from the American Hospital Association annual surveys with the Area Health Resource File at the county level from 2010 to 2019. Observations on general, acute-care community hospitals were analyzed (45,384 hospital-year observations) using logistic regression that clustered standard errors at the hospital level. Results: Hospitals with Joint Commission accreditation, more staffed beds, nonprofit and government ownership, teaching status, one or more intensive care units, a higher percentage of Medicare inpatient days, church affiliation, and system membership were more likely to provide chaplaincy services than their counterparts. Certification as a trauma hospital and market competition showed no influence on the provision of chaplaincy services. Conclusion: The lack of chaplaincy services in many hospitals may be due to limited resources, workforce shortage, or a lack of consensus on scope and nature of chaplaincy services. Practice Implications: Chaplaincy services are an underutilized resource that influences patient experience, clinician burnout and turnover, and the goal of ensuring care is patient-centered. Administrators should consider stronger partnerships where services are provided; researchers and policymakers should consider how the lack of these services in some hospitals may reinforce existing health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurse-provided spiritual care includes support of patient spiritual practices such as prayer. However, limited evidence exists about how nurses respond when a patient requests prayer. A subsample of nurses (n = 381) from a larger study responded to two open-ended questions in an online survey in response to a prayer scenario. Among these mostly Christian nurses, 97% indicated willingness to pray. Content analysis revealed a five-component structure for praying: Open, Set the Stage, Request, Wrap-up, Close. The structure provides a template for future research and nurse prayer in clinical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Much of the research on professions in the field of healthcare focuses on standard bodies of knowledge, jurisdictional claims, state regulations, and professional closure, which are characteristics of professions like medicine. However, new notions such as client-based professionalization, professional fluidity, and connective professionalism have recently emerged in the sociology of professions literature. This article suggests a new perspective on alternative paths of professionalism at the margins of the healthcare system, drawing on the case of spiritual caregivers. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 Israeli spiritual caregivers. The interviewees presented themselves as professionals by describing characteristics resembling the new notions of professionalism: the centrality of the patient, the fluid nature of the practice of spiritual care, and their connectivity with other healthcare practitioners. New notions in the sociological study of professions can help us understand alternative paths of professionalism at the margins of the healthcare system and to characterize the practitioners in these margins. This could contribute to a better understanding of the new sources of gaining legitimacy in the healthcare system to the benefit of patients, medical practitioners, other staff members, and medical institutions at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Unani Tibb is an Arabic term which means Greek medicine. It is an ancient holistic medical system based on the healing theories of Hippocrates, Galen and Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Despite this, spirituality and spiritual care practices are deficient in the clinical setting. Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study was used to describe Unani Tibb practitioners’ perceptions and attitudes regarding spirituality and spiritual care in South Africa. A demographic form, Spiritual Care-Giving Scale, Spiritual and Spiritual Care Rating Scale and Spirituality in Unani Tibb Scale were used to collect data. Results A response rate of 64.7% (n = 44 out of 68) was achieved. Positive perceptions and attitudes regarding spirituality and spiritual care were recorded for Unani Tibb practitioners. The spiritual needs of their patients were considered vital towards enhancing the Unani Tibb treatment approach. Spirituality and spiritual care were regarded as fundamental to Unani Tibb therapy. However, most practitioners agreed that adequate training in spirituality and spiritual care was lacking and future training initiatives were imperative for Unani Tibb clinical practice in South Africa. Conclusion The findings of this study recommends further research in this field by means of qualitative and mixed methods approaches to provide a deeper understanding to this phenomenon. Clear guidelines on spirituality and spiritual care for Unani Tibb clinical practice are essential to ensure the integrity of the holistic approach required by the profession.

Ruqayya S Zeilani,1 Ahmad M R Al-Qunneh,2 Diana H Arabiat,1,3 Ayman Hamdan-Mansour1 1School of Nursing, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; 2Critical Care Nursing, Prince Faisal Bin Al Hussein Hospital, Zarqa, Jordan; 3School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, AustraliaCorrespondence: Ruqayya S Zeilani, School of Nursing, The University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan, Email r.zeilani@ju.edu.joBackground: Earlier research has found that female healthcare providers often report greater spirituality and spiritual care than males. This would evoke attention toward factors contributing to such differences, particularly gender.Aim: To examine the moderating effects of gender on the relationships between demographic characteristics of ICU nurses and their perceived spirituality and spiritual care.Methods: A cross-sectional correlational design was used to recruit a national sample of 865 nurses working in ICUs in Jordan and providing care to patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Data were collected using a self-report bilingual version of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSC) and analysed using the SPSS software package.Results: Social status, monthly income, and receiving previous courses or lecture training on spirituality and spiritual care were predictors of higher SSCRS scores. Working with COVID-19 patients was a positive predictor (B = 0.074, p = 0.023), suggesting that working with COVID-19 patients is more likely to have a higher level of SSC. Gender was a negative predictor (B = − 0.066, p = 0.046), suggesting that female participants are likelier to have a lower SSC score.Conclusion: Working with patients during the COVID-19 pandemic positively impacted nurses’ perception of SCC, but female nurses had lower score than male nurses indicating the need for more emphasis on training female nurses and exploring further the areas in which they need more training and to be able to provide an effective SSC. A sustainable up-to-date training and in-service education programs responding to nurses’ needs and emerged emergencies crisis need to be integrated into nursing quality of care policy development.Keywords: spirituality, spiritual care, gender, nurses, COVID-19 pandemic, intensive care unit

Abstract Aim To examine and analyze the level of spiritual care competency among community nurses. Design The study employed a cross‐sectional design. Methods From May to July 2022, 442 nurses from community health clinics were chosen as survey respondents using the convenience sample method. The General Information Questionnaire, the version in Chinese of the Nurses' Spiritual Caregiving Awareness Scale and the Chinese version of the Spiritual Caregiving Competence Scale were used in the survey. There were 442 questionnaires distributed, 422 were collected, and the response rate was 95.4%. Results The amount of spiritual care competencies of community nurses was positively correlated with the level of spiritual awareness. Simultaneously, their level of education, religious beliefs, marital status and the degree of knowledge of spirituality were all influenced.

Background & Aims Nurses are the largest group of healthcare providers, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with COVID-19 are in dire need of spiritual care due to being alone in quarantine, away from their families. The present study aims to assess the spiritual care competence of nurses in the special care units for COVID-19 in teaching hospitals in Arak, Iran Materials & Methods This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were 142 nurses working in the special care units for COVID-19 in hospitals affiliated to Arak University of Medical Sciences in 2022, who were selected by a census method. The data collection tool was the spiritual care competence scale. The data were analyzed in SPSS software, version 16. Results The mean total score of spiritual care competence was 100.71±14.45, which was higher than the median score of 81. The spiritual care competence had a significant relationship with marital status (P=0.044), willingness to work overtime (P