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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]

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

Many nurses embrace spiritual care as integral to holistic care. Evidence documenting the frequency of spiritual care provided in acute care settings, however, is sparse and weak. For this cross-sectional, correlational study, data were collected from N = 554 tertiary care nurses using the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS) measuring their self-reported spiritual care with patients/family members over the last 72 to 80 hours at work. While the most frequently endorsed practices centered on presence, listening, and spiritual assessment, the overall NSCTS score remained modest (M = 37; SD = 12; possible range = 17-85). Several associations were found; 32.4% of the variance in frequency of spiritual care provision was explained by nurse perception that spiritual issues come up often in the work setting, high nurse spirituality score, not working in pediatrics, and having received education about spiritual care. Findings allow for benchmarking of nursing practices that have often been invisible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: To explore palliative care and oncology clinicians' perspectives on current challenges and facilitating factors in meeting the spiritual needs of patients with lung cancer and family caregivers. This study was conducted in preparation for a communitybased lung cancer palliative care intervention. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: 19 oncology and palliative care clinicians in three outpatient Kaiser Permanente sites in southern California. METHODOLOGIC APPROACH: This multisite qualitative study used focus group and key informant interviews. Data were analyzed using content analysis methodology, and a team approach was used to validate findings. FINDINGS: Clinicians described facilitating factors (interprofessional team support, assessment of spiritual needs, clinician-provided spiritual support, and provision of culturally respectful spiritual care) and challenges (related to providing culturally respectful spiritual care by respecting the patients' spiritual and cultural beliefs in an open way and in advocating for the patients' wishes) they encountered when addressing patient and caregiver spiritual needs. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: This study demonstrated the need to provide nurses with practical tools, education, and a supportive environment to address patients' and family caregivers' spiritual concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To describe how frequently RNs provide 17 spiritual care therapeutics (or interventions) during a 72-80 h timeframe. Background: Plagued by conceptual muddiness as well as weak methods, research quantifying the frequency of spiritual care is not only methodologically limited, but also sparse. Methods: Secondary analysis of data from four studies that used the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale (NSCTS). Data from US American RNs who responded to online surveys about spiritual care were analyzed. The four studies included intensive care unit nurses in Ohio (n = 93), hospice and palliative care nurses across the US (n = 104), nurses employed in a Christian health care system (n = 554), and nurses responding to an invitation to participate found on a journal website (n = 279). Results: The NSCTS mean of 38 (with a range from 17 to 79 [of 85 possible]) suggested respondents include spiritual care therapeutics infrequently in their nursing care. Particularly concerning is the finding that 17-33% (depending on NSCTS item) never completed a spiritual screening during the timeframe. "Remaining present just to show caring" was the most frequent therapeutic (3.4 on a 5-point scale); those who practiced presence at least 12 times during the timeframe provided other spiritual care therapeutics more frequently than those who offered presence less frequently. Conclusion: Findings affirm previous research that suggests nurses provide spiritual care infrequently. These findings likely provide the strongest evidence yet for the need to improve spiritual care education and support for nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to describe the contrasting perspectives between a family caregiver and the caregiver's professional provider in regards to the placement decision-making experience of the caregiver. A qualitative, descriptive, revelatory case study, using a grounded theory approach for data analysis, was conducted to identify and compare major themes drawn from interviews with the caregiver-professional dyad. The case is described on the basis of three interviews, two caregiver interviews (pre- and post-placement) and one health professional interview. The 77-year-old caregiver in this case was a wife caring for her 88-year-old husband who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The health professional was a social worker who led the support group the caregiver attended. Separate and private interviews were conducted by the principal investigator with the caregiver and health professional. Analysis revealed 11 major emerging categories that were compared from the caregiver's and professional's perspective. The perspectives of the family caregiver and the health professional had some elements that were congruent and some that were incongruent. Professionals may be unaware that they are not providing the kind of help that the situation requires. In particular, anticipatory guidance is needed before crisis events make placement immediately necessary. Further research is needed to identify what kind of conditions contribute to smoother decision-making processes and long-term care transitions for caregivers of relatives with dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measured the frequency of nurse-provided spiritual care and how it is associated with various facets of nurse religiosity. Data were collected using an online survey accessed from the home page of the Journal of Christian Nursing. The survey included the Nurse Spiritual Care Therapeutics Scale, six scales quantifying facets of religiosity, and demographic and work-related items. Respondents ( N = 358) indicated high religiosity yet reported neutral responses to items about sharing personal beliefs and tentativeness of belief. Findings suggested spiritual care was infrequent. Multivariate analysis showed prayer frequency, employer support of spiritual care, and non-White ethnicity were significantly associated with spiritual care frequency (adjusted R 2 = .10). Results not only provide an indication of spiritual care frequency but empirical encouragement for nurse managers to provide a supportive environment for spiritual care. Findings expose the reality that nurse religiosity is directly related, albeit weakly, to spiritual care frequency.