Nursing Staff’s Perception of Spiritual Care on Haematology, Oncology and Elderly Care Wards
Issue: Vol 5 No. 1 (2017)
Journal: Health and Social Care Chaplaincy
Subject Areas: Healthcare Communication
DOI: 10.1558/hscc.27567
Abstract:
A mixed quantitative/qualitative study using two questionnaires was undertaken, to explore nurses’ attitudes to and their perceptions of the concepts of spirituality and spiritual care and to determine whether they believed they could meet patients’ needs in this field. Following ethical approval, the questionnaires were distributed to 68 nurses on the Haematology, Oncology and Elderly Care wards. Analyses included descriptive statistics and Cronbach’s alpha, and content analysis of open text.
A response rate of 52.9% was obtained. Nurses indicated a broad understanding of spirituality, not only one related to religious beliefs and practices. The majority (89.9%) believed that patients should receive spiritual support as part of their holistic care, and 55.6% reported that they could o er this. Content analysis identified key themes relating to spiritual care and to spirituality. A need for further training in spiritual care was recorded by 58.3% of respondents. Further studies concentrating on nurses treating patients with a poor prognosis would be helpful.
Author: Wanda Neary, Valerie Hillier, Derek Fraser
References :
Barcham, L. J., and S. D. Stephens (1980) “The Use of an Open-ended Questionnaire in Auditory Rehabilitation”. British Journal of Audiology 14(2): 49–54. https://doi.org/10.3109/03005368009078900
Brody, H. (1981) “Hope”. The Journal of the American Medical Association 246(13): 1411–12. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1981.03320130017014
Capps, D. (1990) Reframing: A New Method in Pastoral Care. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 10.
Carson, V. B. (1989) Spiritual Dimensions of Nursing Practice. Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders.
Clarke, J. (2013) Spiritual Care in Everyday Nursing Practice: A New Approach, 12, 17, 87–89, 92. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951) “Coefficient Alpha and the Internal Structure of Tests”. Psychometrika 16: 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555
DeVellis, R. F. (1991) Scale Development: Theory and Applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Emblen, J. D., and L. Halstead (1993) “Spiritual Needs and Interventions: Comparing the Views of Patients, Nurses and Chaplains”. Clinical Nurse Specialist 7(4) 175–82. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002800-199307000-00005
Frankl, V. E. (1984) Man’s Search for Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy, 84–85. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Gordon, T., E. Kelly and D. Mitchell (2011) Spiritual Care for Healthcare Professionals: Reflecting on Clinical Practice, 5, 11, 79. London: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd.
Harrison, J., and P. Burnard (1993) Spirituality and Nursing Practice. Aldershot: Avebury.
Herth, K. (1990) “Fostering Hope in Terminally Ill People”. Journal of Advanced Nursing 15: 1250–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2648.1990.tb01740.x
Highfield, M. F., and C. Cason (1983) “Spiritual Needs of Patients: Are they Recognised?” Cancer Nursing 6(3): 187–92. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002820-198306000-00003
Lester, A. (1995) Hope in Pastoral Care and Counselling, 44. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press.
Lyall, D. (2001) The Integrity of Pastoral Care, 12, 105. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
Macritchie, I. (1999) “The Chaplain as Translator”. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy 2(2): 7.
McSherry, W. (2006) Making Sense of Spirituality in Nursing and Health Care Practice, 2nd Edition, 45, 48, 153, 154, 155–57, 176, 181. London: Jessica Kingsley. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-7489(02)00014-7
—(2010) RCN Spirituality Survey: A Report by the Royal College of Nursing on Members’ Views on Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Nursing Practice, 1–37. London: Royal College of Nursing.
McSherry, W., P. Draper and D. Kendrick (2002) “The Construct Validity of a Rating Scale Designed to Access Spirituality and Spiritual Care”. International Journal of Nursing Studies 39(7): 723–34.
Meilaender, G. (1999) Learning from Pieper: On Being Lutheran in This Time and Place. Concordia Theological Quarterly 63(1): 37–49.
Narayanasamy, A. (1991) Spiritual Care: A Resource Guide, 8–9. Lancaster: Quay Books.
—(1993) “Nurses’ Awareness and Educational Preparation in Meeting their Patients’ Spiritual Needs”. Nurse Education Today 13(3): 196–201. https://doi.org/10.1016/0260-6917(93)90102-8
—(1997) “Spiritual Dimensions of Learning Disability”. In Dimensions of Learning Disability, eds. B. Gates and C. Beacock, 203–222. London: Bailliere Tindall.
National Health Service Education for Scotland (2009) Spiritual Care Matters: An Introductory Resource for All NHS Scotland Staff. Edinburgh: NHS Education for Scotland.
Payne, R. (2009) “Hope in the Face of Terminal Illness”. In Living Well and Dying Faithfully, eds. J. Swinton and R. Payne, 206, 212. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Erdmans.
Royal College of Nursing (2011) Spirituality in Nursing Care: a Pocket Guide. London: Royal College of Nursing.
Shelley, J. A., and S. Fish (1988) Spiritual Care: The Nurse’s Role, 3rd Edition. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
Speck, P. W. (2004) “Spiritual Care in Health Care”. Scottish Journal of Healthcare Chaplaincy 7(1): 21–25.
Stoll, R. G. (1979) “Guidelines for Spiritual Assessment”. American Journal of Nursing 79(9): 1574–577. https://doi.org/10.1097/00000446-197909000-00041
Swift, C. (2009) Hospital Chaplaincy in the Twenty-First Century: The Crisis of Spiritual Care on the NHS, eds. L. J. Francis and J. Astley, 111–16. Surrey: Ashgate.
Swinton, J. (2007). Raging With Compassion: Pastoral Responses to the Problem of Evil, 2, 4, 15–16, 69, 110–11, 116–17, 198, 244–45. Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: Eerdmans.
Waugh, L. A. (1992) “Spiritual Aspects of Nursing: a Descriptive Study of Nurses’ Perceptions”. Unpublished PhD thesis, Edinburgh: Queen Margaret College, UK.