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Purpose: The spiritual care of patients is often overlooked in health care as many nurses are unprepared to provide competent, holistic care that addresses patients' spiritual needs. Since undergraduate academic instruction prepares nurses for practice, innovative strategies that train pre-licensure nurses to care for the spiritual needs of patients are essential. Design: A course needs assessment identified spiritual care as the most deficient competency for undergraduate psychiatric students. A three-phase quality improvement project designed to increase student awareness and practice of spiritual care included (a) development of a quality improvement plan, (b) implementation, and (c) outcome evaluation. Methods: Spiritual care was introduced into the Spring 2020 semester through didactic content and experiential practice. Additionally, an evidence-based spiritual assessment tool (i.e., HOPE questions) was integrated into the course to train students for use in clinical and simulation. Surveys were used to compare the 2019 and 2020 cohorts. Findings: Results showed a statistically significant increase in students' perception of spiritual care competency after project completion. Conclusions: Future implications include the use of similar methods to improve spiritual care competency for pre-licensure nursing students. Keywords: Spiritual care, undergraduate nurse, spiritual assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aims of this sequential explanatory mixed method study were twofold 1. Firstly, to evaluate the implementation of a spiritual care subject in a nursing program. 2. Secondly, to examine undergraduate nursing students' perceptions of providing spiritual care within their holistic care practice. Background: Studies conducted internationally indicate many nurses feel inadequately prepared to provide holistic care inclusive of spiritual care due to insufficient spiritual care education. Design: Two phase, sequential explanatory mixed method design which comprised of a quantitative study followed by a qualitative study. Methods: The setting was an Australian faith-based university. Participants comprised of undergraduate nursing students who were enrolled in a spiritual care subject. Findings: Two study findings emerged: 1. Participants' knowledge and practice of spiritual care were transformed by the spiritual care subject, and 2. The spiritual care subject broadened perceptions of spiritual care so participants viewed themselves more equipped to provide spiritual care in their holistic care provision. Conclusion: The spiritual care subject had an affirmative influence on participants' perceptions of providing spiritual care within holistic care practice. The findings have implications for nurse educators to consider how spiritual care content can be included within undergraduate nursing curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rooted in a Durkheimian functionalist reading of religion, in this article, we present and discuss the results of a scoping study of on-line sources on the delivery of spiritual care during the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Spiritual care highlights the bond between healthcare and religion/spirituality, particularly within the growing paradigm of holistic and humane care. Spiritual care is also an area where the importance of the physical presence of receivers and providers is exceptionally important, as a classic anthropological understanding of the religious ritual would maintain. Three themes were found, which speak to changes brought about by the pandemic. These revolve around disembodiment, solitude, and technology in spiritual care, of religious and non-religious nature. A fourth theme encapsulates the ambivalence in the experience of spiritual care delivery, whereby distant and virtual care could only partially compensate for the impossibility of physical presence. On the one hand, we draw from anthropology of the ritual and phenomenology to make the case for the inalienability of intercorporeality in being there for the other. On the other hand, relying on digital religious studies and post-human theories, we argue for an opening up to new ways of conceptualising the body, being there, and being human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Spiritual care is a vital component of palliative care. Provision of specialty spiritual care is required by the guiding principles of palliative care as expressed in the National Consensus Project guidelines. Objective: This review examines the role and duties of the specialty palliative care chaplain in contributing to the overall work of the interdisciplinary palliative care team. Methods: The PUBMED, EMBASE, and CINAHL electronic databases were searched using identified key words including studies published between January 2008 and September 2022. Review articles met pre-established selection and exclusion criteria. A thematic approach was used to synthesize and discuss the findings in the form of a narrative review. Results: Two main categories of articles were identified: (1) articles explicitly illustrating the tasks or duties of the palliative care chaplain and (2) case study articles including the input of the palliative care chaplain. These duties were comprehensive in nature and support the contributions of the specialty chaplain to the interdisciplinary plan of care. Conclusion: The role of the palliative care chaplain has evolved over time as has chaplain training. Current research calls for standardizing inclusion of the palliative care chaplain on the interdisciplinary team to improve care and expand team function. Future research could examine contributions of chaplains to plan of care, the role of the chaplain in supporting the interdisciplinary team, and how the chaplain contributes to ongoing team growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Izmir Katip Celebi University Faculty of Health Sciences Journal / İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Izmir Katip Celebi University, Faculty of Health Sciene Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Izmir Katip Celebi University Faculty of Health Sciences Journal / İzmir Katip Çelebi Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Izmir Katip Celebi University, Faculty of Health Sciene Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research focuses on Hospital Spiritual Counseling and Guidance (SCG) services in Germany and Turkey. The primary objective is to uncover the different methods of Muslim spiritual care used in patient interactions in hospitals in both countries through semi-structured interviews. The sample of hospital spiritual caregivers comprises individuals from various regions of Turkey, while the German sample mostly includes participants who graduated from the Mannheimer Institute. Ultimately, a total of 30 Muslim hospital spiritual caregivers, with 15 from Turkey and 15 from Germany, were interviewed using telephone and internet applications like Zoom. Thematic analysis was employed to comparatively examine the narratives of the participants. This research aims to uncover whether methodological differences can be expected between patients interacting with Hospital SCG providers in Turkey and those consulting with Hospital SCG providers in Germany. Based on the comparative findings, it is expected that Muslim Hospital SCG providers in both Germany and Turkey would employ similar approaches, with a specific emphasis on utilizing active listening during interactions with their clients. This study underscores the significance of active listening as a critical element in patient interactions, regardless of the geographical context. Consequently, Turkey and Germany share common aspects in the implementation of Muslim hospital SCG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spiritual care given by the nurses has an important place in the recovery of the illness and the development of the health of the individuals. To provide appropriate spiritual care, nurses must have good therapeutic communication skills. The educational processes of nursing students are extremely important in gaining knowledge about spiritual care and therapeutic communication. This research is a cross-sectional, descriptive/correlational study conducted to examine the relationship between nursing students' therapeutic communication skills and spiritual care competencies. The study sample consisted of nursing department students of a state university (n=468). The data were collected with the introductory information form, Therapeutic Communication Skills Scale for Nursing Students, and the Turkish version of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale. As a result of our research, it has been determined that nursing students have average level non-therapeutic and high-level therapeutic communication skills, and their spiritual care competence is above average. In addition, it was determined that there was a negative relationship between students' non-therapeutic communication skills and spiritual care competencies and a positive relationship between therapeutic communication skills and spiritual care competencies. It is recommended to include a course on spiritual care and therapeutic communication skills in the curriculum of the nursing department, with case studies and further research on the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically, religious institutions and healthcare systems have been inseparable, but they are often segregated in contemporary (post-)secular societies. A growing body of high-quality evidence from quantitative epidemiological studies during the last decade shows robust health benefits from religious and spiritual practices or conditions such as regularly attending religious services or having a sense of meaning and purpose. The potential public health implications of this evidence are a delicate matter. One might argue that, given the current evidence, it is unethical not to support citizens' search for meaning and purpose on a structural level – irrespective of whether that search is related to the transcendent or not. While it is not feasible to 'prescribe religion' to improve health, current religious and spiritual institutions might be essential in providing a contemporary and relevant space for existential, spiritual and religious contemplation in secular cultures. But how can that be attained? Starting from international research on religion, spirituality and health, this article discusses potential implications for public health in relation to religious institutions in a secular culture. If faith is protective and healthy for us, is there a way in modern-day society to take advantage of the effect of religious and spiritual communities and practice to increase public health, despite the structural and ethical challenges provided in a (post-)secular country such as Denmark? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Globally the inclusion of spiritual activities has been well adopted into nursing care. Empirical work related to the inclusion of spiritual activities in nursing within the South African context particularly within the oncology setting is sparse. Being diagnosed with cancer can be unsettling because of the severity and vigorous treatment that one has to endure. Spiritual activities could be used as one of the coping strategies for cancer patients in times of spiritual distress. Strengthening spiritual care by including spiritual activities into daily nursing care could be beneficial to the patient and the institution. Objective: This study aimed to explore spiritual activities that could strengthen spiritual care in oncology nursing practice. Methods: The research study followed a phenomenological qualitative descriptive design. The study population consisted of professional nurses working in the oncology units for more than 6 months. Four health care institutions were purposively selected. Data was collected through individual in-depth interviews and field notes. Ten professional nurses were recruited at the point of data saturation. Data analysis followed inductively using content analysis enrolling steps from Elo and Kyngas. Results: The findings revealed the nurse's willingness to embrace spiritual care in action into their daily nursing care. Three subthemes: holding patient's hands, hospital policy for patient visits, and music therapy outline how patients are comforted by nurses. Conclusion: Nurses are integral in the provision of spiritual care for cancer patients from diagnosis up until the end of life. The essence of spiritual activities gives patients a distraction and an escape from their pain and predicament thus improving their quality of life. The findings provide policy makers with an indication that patients do not only need medical and physical care but spiritual care in their nursing care plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how spirituality is integrated into practice across the different Australian health professions. Utilising the Joanna Briggs Institute's (JBI) protocol, six databases were searched, and sixty-seven articles were finally included. To present the findings, a qualitative synthesis was used. 'Meaning' and 'purpose in life' were found to be key to many spirituality definitions. The most frequently reported approach for Australian health professionals (HPs) in asking about client spirituality was using one or two questions within a comprehensive assessment. Major facilitators included a holistic care approach and prior training, whereas a key barrier was a lack of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important areas of tension for diaconia in the Western European, German-speaking context is the demands of an interreligious and plural society. The social challenges to churches with their congregations and parishes, diaconal organizations, and the state with its social institutions are complex. This article deals with religious layers of social transformations that shape helping actions. It focuses on innovative projects in the field of spiritual care and diaconia that created new spaces of diaconal practice in the last ten years in the Canton of Zurich and Switzerland. Specifically, the process of accrediting the first imam at the University Hospital in Zurich, the employment of chaplains of Muslim and Jewish faith in the Swiss Army, and the training of Muslim chaplains in the Canton of Zurich are presented. On the one hand, the aim is to adequately define the relationship between diaconia and spiritual care in a pluralistic society. On the other hand, interreligious cooperation is analyzed as a process of intercultural communication and transcultural practice. From this, theses for prospective, innovative, and well-founded interreligious cooperation in diaconia can be gained, which can be further developed and discussed in other European and global contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares the perception of spirituality among individuals with different health statuses. It also describes the spiritual services and religious support in the healthcare system that are recommended by the community. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted in Riyadh during the year 2021. A face-to-face questionnaire was used to obtain data from seriously ill inpatients (N = 132), chronically ill outpatients (N = 202), and healthy individuals (N = 283), which is an assessment tool designed by the investigators to meet the purpose of the study. This study was conducted in two tertiary hospitals and in the community. Participants were randomly selected using a stratified random sampling technique. The study was performed on 635 participants. A significant number of the participants agreed that the provision of spiritual services has a positive effect on patient condition. The rural population had a higher mean value on limiting the concept of spirituality to religious aspects. There is a clear tendency from all categories toward religious services. The majority of the participants support the provision of psychological services, especially if it is provided by specialized and expert spiritual care providers. The positive perception of participants about spiritual care has been reflected on the tendency toward providing spiritual services. The provision of spiritual care in healthcare systems is expected to be a necessity and not a luxury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palliative care is interprofessional care for seriously ill people. Many clergy, religious leaders, and hospice and palliative care chaplains of color and minority religious backgrounds desire clinical palliative care education. This manuscript presents findings from a three-year quality improvement project which included the development of a palliative care specialty ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education (ACPE) accredited program at an academic medical center. The program was designed to improve spiritual care provision in palliative care at the institution and to facilitate the participation of clergy and spiritual leaders of color and minority religious groups. Forty-six students participated in 53 400-h clinical pastoral education units. Strategies from medical education literature were employed to address obstacles to CPE participation including a racially and religiously diverse CPE advisory group, financial assistance, flexible learning (e.g. hybrid, asynchronous), and clinical placement agreements at places of employment. Upon completion of the program students provided written feedback, participated in a structured exit interview and completed a survey. Data were reviewed for common themes and results report student perceptions about the strategies utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ascension, one of the largest Roman Catholic healthcare systems, and Transforming Chaplaincy (TC) collaborated on a research project "Managing Spiritual Care (SC) Departments During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study." Research participants included 22 leaders from Ascension and TC contacts. Four rounds of individual interviews were conducted from April, 2020 to February, 2021. After issues of race and racial reckoning following George Floyd's murder were brought up spontaneously in interviews, questions on how leaders responded to racial reckoning were added to the subsequent interviews. A secondary analysis examined responses from participants on racial reckoning from interviews 2–4. The objective of this study was to better understand how SC leaders understand their role in issues concerning justice, equity, and inclusion. This study utilized hermeneutic phenomenology methodology. Four phenomenological patterns emerged including: World of Racial Reckoning, Lack of Safety, Creating Safety, and Movement Toward Justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic pain affects all aspects of a patient's life: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. Religiosity is a common, but not the only, way to fulfil spiritual needs and engage in spiritual activities. Based on the analysis of the definition of spirituality provided by the Polish Society for Spiritual Care in Medicine, and by comparing it with statements from patients at the Pain Treatment Clinic, conclusions were drawn about 4 non-religious aspects of spirituality. Chronic conditions often influence how a patient interprets the meaning and purpose of their life and how they experience relationships with other people. Morality, understood as a system of beliefs about the surrounding world and the values and goals that stem from them, can also change through the experience of chronic pain. Reference to what transcends a person and the ability to go beyond one's limitations may enable the acceptance of adverse events, even those such as the loss of physical ability. In Poland, where an increasing number of patients do not identify with any specific religion, there is a need to develop a model of spiritual care that physicians can provide in a non-religious manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nurses, regardless of the healthcare setting, have numerous opportunities for interacting with those who are grieving. The purpose of this article is to help honor and support those who are on a grief journey following the death of a loved one. Caring for the grieving involves offering the ministry of presence, awareness of both established and individualized grief responses, planning interventions for loneliness and isolation, and navigating through special occasions. Praying and sharing Scripture and encouraging time alone in God's presence can be integral in helping the bereaved meet spiritual needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contagiousness of some illnesses (e.g., COVID-19) limits the ways in which families can interact with their dying loved ones who have been admitted to the hospital, especially in the intensive care unit. As a result, nurses have developed culturally relevant strategies for virtual bereavement care for patients and families predeath, perideath, and postdeath. Specific ways nurses can support, communicate, and facilitate meaningful rituals when patients die in isolation are provided in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empathic relational communication is a key competency in spiritual care for establishing a trusting pastoral relationship. Ministry with d/Deaf persons requires a deeper level of relational skill, where attentiveness to sign language, non-manual features, visual cues and facial grammar are important for meaningful pastoral relatedness. It is widely recognized that d/Deaf persons experience higher than average healthcare access barriers and associated psychological impacts, and therefore spiritual need. In addition, d/Deaf persons develop a non-auditory approach to emotional expression and communication. The competencies of clinical pastoral education (CPE) provide a natural context to further develop the necessary deeper relational skills for healthcare ministry. This article draws on the lived experiences of a chaplain for the d/Deaf engaged in CPE and a CPE educator, in order to highlight current deficiencies in pastoral care for d/Deaf persons, and to explore and illustrate how relational empathy and spiritual connection can be deepened among d/Deaf persons in healthcare by developing the competencies of CPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This issue of Health and Social Care Chaplaincy presents a wide range of topics relating to: (i) spirituality and spiritual care education, (ii) mental health care, (iii) hearing impairment, and (iv) COVID-19 in residential aged care. A number of book reviews are presented, as well as the annual overview of HSCC. Finally, we welcome a new HSCC Editor-in-Chief and remind readers of the upcoming European Conference on Religion, Spirituality and Health planned for 2024. Further, we provide advance notice of a forthcoming conference currently in planning -- namely the inaugural International Moral Injury and Wellbeing Conference (IMIWC, 2024). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Aims This study aimed to assess student nurses' competence and attitude toward spiritual care and analysed the associated factors. Design Cross‐sectional study using an online survey. Methods From April 14 to June 14, 2018, a convenience sample of 938 student nurses were recruited from six schools of Nursing in Hunan Province, China. Data were collected by using the Chinese versions of the Spiritual Care Competence Scale (C‐SCCS) and the Spiritual Care Attitude Scale (C‐SCAS). Results The average total score on the C‐SCCS was 21.42 (±4.27) out of 30 and the C‐SCAS was 58.03 (±9.90) out of 75. Factors such as liking the nursing profession, attending a spiritual care course, participation in classroom learning or expert lecture, and supporting continuous and systematic training were the strongest predictors of higher spiritual care competence and attitude. A better attitude about spiritual care was a relatively moderate and significant predictor of higher spiritual care competence.

This study presents the findings of a statistical analysis exploring the correlation between supply and demand of clinical Buddhist chaplaincy in the US healthcare system. Quantitative data collected from the field (n=993; total visits(tv.)=1,188) analyze different aspects clinical Buddhist chaplaincy work with regard to patients’ spiritual care needs and the distribution of patient ethnicity, religious/spiritual preference and geographical origin. Insights obtained from the data support a positive and strong correlation between patient spiritual care needs and the work of a clinical Buddhist chaplain as a spiritual care provider.

Abstract Background: Religion/spirituality (R/S), which is associated with individuals’ well-being and psychological health, plays a significant role in most clients’ lives in healthcare systems. Although clients in mental healthcare settings prefer their R/S to be employed in nursing care, R/S has neither been adequately integrated into mental healthcare nor discussed in the assessment and nursing interventions of mental healthcare. Evidence shows that most psychiatric nurses receive little or no training in spiritual care (SC) and are unable to integrate clients’ R/S into mental healthcare. To address this gap, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of an online SC training program on psychiatric nurses’ competencies in SC and the integration of clients’ R/S into mental healthcare. Methods: This experimental study was conducted with nurses working in a psychiatric hospital affiliated with a large University of Medical Sciences in southeast Iran. Random sampling was performed and 95 nurses were assigned to the intervention (n = 50) and control (n = 45) groups. Online SC training was conducted for the intervention group in four sessions over four weeks. Data were collected using the Self-Assessment of Spiritual Care Competency and R/S Integrated Practice Assessment Scale before and one month after the training program. Results: There were no significant differences between the two groups before training (p > 0.05). After the training, nurses in the intervention group obtained significantly higher scores in competencies in SC and integration of clients’ R/S into mental healthcare compared to the control group, with a considerable effect size (P

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This statement fills a significant gap in the efforts to demonstrate outcomes of the chaplaincy role in health care and to provide direction for quality measurement related to spiritual care as a key domain of serious illness care. The objective of this project was to develop the first major consensus statement on the role and qualifications of health care chaplains in the Unites States. The statement was developed by a diverse panel of highly regarded professional chaplains and nonchaplain stakeholders. The document provides guidance to chaplains and other spiritual care stakeholders as they further integrate spiritual care in health care and conduct research and quality improvement efforts to strengthen the evidence base for practice. The consensus statement is in Fig. 1 and available at https://www.spiritualcareassociation.org/role-of-the-chaplain-guidance.html. This statement can potentially drive the standardization and alignment of all phases of health care chaplaincy preparation and practice [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the contribution of faith-based chaplains who provide holistic pastoral and spiritual care within critical environments such as the military, first responders, and hospitals. The contribution of faith-based chaplains can sometimes be taken for granted or not properly understood, particularly in some Western countries which are currently experiencing a decline in religiosity. Following on from a previous paper regarding chaplaincy utilization (Layson et al. 2022), this article presents an alternative argument to the secularist-humanist perspective by noting five ways by which the faith based chaplaincy model provides best practice service and builds a capability advantage for organizations that engage faith-based chaplaincy services. The first section discusses faith-based chaplaincy and organizational holistic care; the second section considers the role of faith-based chaplains—much of which is largely unknown and poorly appreciated; the third section considers the unique capability of faith-based chaplains to provide spiritual and religious care to those of faith and for those of none; the fourth section explores how faith-based chaplains can leverage the positive impact of religious organizations to provide additional low-cost resources for other organizations and their staff; and lastly, the operational advantage of faith-based chaplains on the world stage is considered, particularly in light of culturally and linguistically diverse populations to whom religiosity is increasingly important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was undertaken to test the validity of the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) by McSherry et al. (IJNS 39:723–734, 2002) in an Indian context. The study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital with a convenience sample of 200 nurses. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were completed to assess the reliability and validity of the tool. The results of the present study were similar to but differed from the McSherry et al's (IJNS 39:723–734, 2002) study which identified 17 items on the scale. Only 15 items loaded on three factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to design, validate and standardize the Spiritual Supporter (SpSup) Scale, a tool designed to assess competency to provide spiritual care including knowledge, sensitivity to spiritual needs and spiritual support skills. This instrument can be used by all those engaged in or training for caregiving roles. The study was conducted in Poland in the Polish language. The SpSup Scale demonstrates high overall reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.88), a satisfactory diagnostic accuracy (0.79), and a satisfactory discriminatory power of the items. Given the psychometric properties of SpSup Scale demonstrated here, the scale is recommended for the assessment of the competency to provide spiritual care in both clinical and research settings in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accessible Summary: What is known on the subject?: Because the definition of spirituality is complex and has cultural and individual dimensions, it is important to be receptive to individual differences in the perception of spirituality during clinical practice of mental health nurses.Although enhancing spiritual care is beneficial to patients diagnosed with mental illnesses, the extrinsic (e.g., education) and intrinsic factors that would affect nurses' attitudes towards spiritual care have not been investigated.Notwithstanding the known impact of certain intrinsic factors (e.g., personality‐related) of mental health nurses on their coping strategies as well as their emotional and mental health, the link to their spiritual care attitudes has received little attention. What this paper adds to existing knowledge?: This paper is the first to identify the beneficial impacts of extrinsic factors including postgraduate education, working experience, participation in palliative care education programmes, and spiritual care experience on spiritual care attitudes among mental health nurses.Certain intrinsic factors, including those personality‐related such as "Extraversion," "Openness/Intellect," "Conscientiousness," and "Agreeableness," were also associated with higher awareness of providing spiritual care among mental health nurses. What are the implications for practice?: The finding of an association of certain intrinsic factors with more positive attitudes towards spiritual care could encourage further studies to explore possible links between these factors and attitudes of spiritual care.Those less aware of the patients' spiritual needs may benefit through participating in relevant education and on‐the‐job training programmes that involves actual practice and collaboration in a multidisciplinary team. Introduction: Although enhancing spiritual care can facilitate the communication of mental health nurses with patients diagnosed with mental illnesses, extrinsic and intrinsic factors that may influence their spiritual care attitudes remain unclear. Aim: To conduct a questionnaire‐based survey on mental health nurses from eight hospitals. Method: A total of 239 psychiatric nurses were assessed based on (1) "big‐five Mini‐Markers" questionnaire and (2) spiritual care attitudes scale on three components (i.e., core values, growth, and nursing) to investigate the associations of spiritual care attitudes with social/occupational characteristics and personality. Results: A positive attitude was significantly associated with working experience, higher educational level, previous participation in palliative care education programmes, spiritual care experience, and personality factors including "Extraversion," "Openness/Intellect," "Conscientiousness," and "Agreeableness." Discussion: Despite demonstrating impacts of intrinsic factors (e.g., personality) on mental health nurses' spiritual care attitudes, other modifiable extrinsic factors (e.g., education) were important in enhancing their awareness towards spiritual care. Implications for Practice: Our findings encourage further studies to explore possible links between intrinsic factors and attitudes of mental health nurses towards spiritual care as well as suggest benefits of continuing education and on‐the‐job training that involves actual practice and collaboration in a multidisciplinary team to provide spiritual care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous religious leaders can be the most trusted organic helping agents within vulnerable communities, but often lack orientation to the language and paradigms of the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) professionals responding to their communities after a crisis. Similarly, MHPSS professionals work within paradigms which do not always match the indigenous world views of the vulnerable people they seek to help and therefore can undermine community stability while attempting to provide a service. In parallel, the spiritual care offered by indigenous religious leaders does not always optimally intersect with evidence-based MPHSS interventions, although it is highly likely that both approaches to care provide important benefits to the community, some of which are missing or underemphasized in one or the other. Training approaches designed to orient religious leaders to the work of MHPSS are usually funded and delivered by MHPSS professionals and tend to leverage MHPSS assumptions and portray MHPSS interventions as the most important lines of effort in care. This may leave religious leaders feeling uncertain of their ability to contribute to multi-disciplinary efforts without migrating away from their own foundational assumptions about humanity, illness, and wellness. Often missing from the field is a parallel effort in training which offers MHPSS professionals insight into the efficacy of indigenous spiritual interventions of various kinds and how working alongside indigenous religious leaders can aid them in protecting against the well-known pathologizing tendencies present in their own models of care. The authors are experienced in working during and after community crisis with both MHPSS professionals and indigenous religious leaders and offer an integrated vision for combined training and combined support planning that may facilitate collaboration after crisis in vulnerable communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiritual care can improve patients' physical and emotional well-being, but patients at the end of life often experience their spiritual needs are not being sufficiently met by the health care professionals. This is caused by barriers among health care professionals that stem from inadequate education on spiritual care and lack of self-reflection on spiritual topics. By participating in spiritual care training, health care professionals seem to gain the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to care spiritually for patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect and experiences of a training course in spiritual care for 30 nurses working at a Danish hospice. This was done by means of both a before-and-after questionnaire and focus group interviews. The course focused primarily on the nurses and their personal and collegial reflections on spiritual care, whereas increased spiritual care for patients seemed to be a secondary outcome of the course. There was a significant statistical correlation between the nurses' values and spirituality, and their confidence in being able to exercise spiritual care for patients. The training course facilitated spiritual empowerment, collegial spiritual care, and spiritual language among the nurses, which led to increased spiritual care for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. In times of the dehumanisation of medicine, a holistic approach to patients seems indispensable. Moreover, there is an increasing number of scientific papers on the significance of soft competencies and the non-clinical nature of care in the quality and effectiveness of therapeutic processes. The staff often neglects or ignores the elements of spiritual care in everyday practice. It results from the concern not to interfere with the patient's personal life and from staff shortages, which entails the staff 's heavy workload on duty. Consequently, a phenomenon known as missing nursing care was diagnosed, involving skipping some activities during everyday nursing practice in order to perform the indispensable, most essential procedures for the patient. Aim. The aim of the study was to present the importance of spiritual care in nursing and to present tools for its measurement. Method. The method is an nonsystematic review of current national and world literature. Summary. Providing spiritual care is primarily aimed at responding to patients' needs and concerns. Such care is based on effective communication skills, through which a nurse establishes a bond and trust with the patient, and consequently, the patient is more willing to engage in therapeutic processes, so hospitalisation might be reduced significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The unmet spiritual need in clinical practice is a challenge for nursing education to prepare the spiritual care competence in nursing care. It has been debatable that spiritual nursing competence is derived from the spirituality of nursing students and their perception of spirituality and spiritual care. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between nursing students' own spirituality and their perception of spirituality and spiritual care. Method: The design of the study was cross-sectional study by involving 286 students from undergraduate and professional program. There were 232 nursing students who participated in this study. The collection data were conducted via online survey using Beliefs and Values Scale (BVS)no and Spiritual Care-Giving Scale (SCGS) tools. The data were analyzed with SPSS. Bivariate analysis with Spearman's Correlation Coefficient was used to investigate the association between BVS score and SCGS score. Results: The result showed that participants have strong spiritual belief (median: 70) and good perception of spirituality and spiritual care (median: 172). Additionally, a significant relationship of the two variables was found (p-value: 0,000). Conclusions: The spirituality of nursing students should be concerned by nursing education system. This matter seems to be important to prepare nursing students in applying spiritual care in clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religiosity can support a patient in coping with a stressful situation such as breast cancer. In this study, the authors aimed to explain the relationships between the religiosity of the respondents and the religious crises they experienced and coping strategies, as well as between coping strategies and the disease duration. The research method used is the method of diagnostic survey, and the tools: a questionnaire of our own, making it possible to determine sociodemographic variables and standardized scales: the Inventory for Measuring Coping with Stress—Mini-COPE (the brief COPE), the Polish Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS) and the Religious Crisis Scale by W. Prężyna (RCS). With approval from the Bioethics Committee at the Medical University of Lublin (KE-0254/133/2015), 69 female subjects with breast cancer were studied. The results showed statistically significant positive correlations between the centrality of religiosity and selected components of religiosity and action-oriented coping strategies. RCS scores correlate negatively with more adaptive coping strategies and positively with ineffective ones. Additionally, patients suffering from breast cancer for more than five years, are statistically significantly different from those with shorter disease duration only in their scores for the CRS "public practice" subscale. Mature religiosity promotes the adoption of constructive coping strategies, while religious crisis hinders the process of coping with stressful situations. It appears necessary to integrate spiritual care into the treatment process of cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults living with dementia experience progressive decline, prompting reliance on others for spiritual care and support. Despite a growing interest in studying persons living with dementia (PLwDs), empirical evidence on the spiritual needs of PLwDs has not been synthesized. Using the Whittemore and Knafl method, this integrative review examined the literature from 2000 to 2022 on the spiritual care needs of PLwDs. We sought to identify characteristics of the spiritual needs of PLwDs and ways to address them. The ATLA Religion, CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Socindex databases were used to search the literature, and 12 peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria. Spiritual care needs varied across studies. Overall, findings support the importance of identifying PLwDs' religious and spiritual backgrounds to inform person-centered care. Spiritual needs were identified as verbal and non-verbal expressions related to past meaning and religious and spiritual background and were not consistently addressed in care. Providers reported observing spiritual distress in the mild stage prompting the need for spiritual care. There is a great need for dementia-specific spiritual assessment tools and spiritual care interventions to support spiritual well-being in dementia care. Spiritual care involves facilitating religious rituals and providing spiritual group therapy and religious and spiritual activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The purpose of this paper is to make an enquiry into workplace spirituality in health care systems. Based on a theoretical study of spirituality and its growing importance in health care systems; workplace spirituality is discussed with doctors and elements of spirituality which are applied in treating patients are identified. The study has also explored the individual level and system level challenges while practicing spirituality through the identified elements in the health care systems. METHODOLOGY ADOPTED: This is an inductive form of research which involved enquiry into the existing literature of spirituality and further records the focused discussions of doctors for capturing the idea of spirituality in health care systems, identification of elements of spirituality and implementation challenges of spiritual elements in health care systems. FINDINGS: The idea of spirituality in healthcare systems includes the trust and belief in supreme power, peace of mind, spiritual care and identifying spirituality as an asset. Gratitude and prayers, counseling, inclusion of the yogic techniques and investment of self in the work are identified as elements of spirituality in healthcare systems. Analysis of data also implied challenges in implementation of spirituality in health care systems. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The findings of the study have identified the elements of spirituality in health care systems not addressed in the previous research. The present study suggests to consider the emotional labor and stres s of the doctors developed in the treatment process as the role of doctors is crucial in maintaining the integral health of patients. The implementation challenges of spiritual practices in health care systems are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: End-of life dreams and visions (ELDVs) or so-called death bed phenomena are transcendent experiences at the end of life that can be visual, auditory and/or kinesthetic, and often include visions of (deceased) loved ones, close friends or perceptions of places, travels, bright lights, or music. ELDVs typically occur weeks to hours prior to death and may comfort the dying and prepare spiritually for the end of life. Such experiences are frequently reported by dying individuals, the prevalence varying between 30 and 80%, but in the clinical context ELDVs are usually neglected, but interpreted and treated as pathological changes in the brain that result in, and from, delirium. This article tries to enlighten the occurrence, the contents and meanings of ELDVs in dying persons as opposed to delirium and night dreams using findings from the literature and from clinical observations. Implications of these conclusions for palliative care and the therapeutic relevance of ELDVs when taking care of dying individuals and their loved ones will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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<0.001), age (P=0.011), total work experience (P=0.03), and work experience in the special care unit (P=0.025), such that spiritual care competence was higher in older married nurses with a willingness to work overtime and a higher work experience. Conclusion The spiritual care competence of nurses in the study hospitals is at a favorable level. The results of this study can help future studies in improving the quality of nursing care and the competence of nurses in spiritual care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical illness of a family member is associated with high emotional and spiritual distress and difficult medical decisions. To determine if a semistructured spiritual care intervention improves the well-being of family surrogate decision makers in intensive care (ICU) settings. This study is a randomized, allocation-concealed, parallel group, usual care-controlled, single-blind trial of patient/surrogate dyads in five ICUs in one Midwest, academic medical center. Patients were 18 and older admitted to the ICU and unable to make medical decisions. The intervention involved proactive contact from the chaplain, scheduled, semi-structured visits, weekly follow-up, and bereavement calls. The control group received usual care. The primary endpoint was the surrogate's anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorders-7 scale), six to eight weeks after discharge. Of 192 patient/surrogate dyads enrolled, 128 completed outcome assessments. At follow-up, anxiety in the intervention group was lower than control (median score 1 (interquartile range 0,6) vs. 4 (1,9), P = 0.0057). The proportion of patients with a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in anxiety of 2+ was 65.2% in the intervention group vs. 49.2% in control. The odds of an MCID remained higher in adjusted analysis (Odds Ratio 3.11, 95% confidence interval 1.18, 8.21; P = 0.0218) The adjusted odds of an MCID were higher for spiritual well-being (OR 3.79, CI 1.41,10.17; P = 0.0081). Satisfaction with spiritual care was also higher (adjusted mean 3.5 ± 0.4 vs. 2.9 ± 0.1); P <.0001). Proactive, semistructured spiritual care delivered by chaplains improves well-being for ICU surrogates. Results provide evidence for inclusion of chaplains in palliative and intensive care teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Registered dietitians assess, diagnose and treat nutritional problems. Although integral to healthcare, their role in spiritual care is unknown. We conducted a systematic review of spiritual needs and spiritual care in nutrition and dietetic practice. Subject Headings and keywords were used to search Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO and AMED for studies exploring spiritual care and nutrition or dietetic practice. From 1433 records, 13 studies were included. Medium quality evidence showed unmet spiritual needs among dietetic patients suffering from cancer, COPD, heart failure and diabetes. Unmet needs occurred in patients from a variety of ethnicities, religions and none. However, dietitians were only involved in spiritual care regarding nutrition and hydration at the end of life. Integrating spiritual screening and sign-posting within dietetic practice is prudent, but clinical trials are needed to evaluate its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]