Knowledge and attitudes of nursing professors and students concerning the interface between spirituality, religiosity and health

Abstract

This study compares the knowledge and attitudes of nursing professors and students concerning the interface between spirituality, religiosity and health. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 30 nursing professors and 118 students. The results reveal that more than 95% of the participants had some religious affiliation, 96% believed that spirituality considerably influences patients' health, and 77% wished to address this subject. However, only 36% felt prepared for it and most believed that the university did not provide the necessary information. No statistical differences were found between the religious practices of nursing professors and students, though a marked difference was found in their clinical practices and opinions concerning spirituality and its inclusion in the program's curriculum. The most common barriers to addressing such a subject were: fear of imposing one's own beliefs, lack of time, and fear of offending patients.

The NERSH International Collaboration on Values, Spirituality and Religion in Medicine: Development of Questionnaire, Description of Data Pool, and Overview of Pool Publications

“…This article describes the development, contents, and first cross national comparisons based on an international research tool, first developed in 2002 and executed in 2003 with subsequent publications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], translated into seven languages [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and optimized in 2013. The data document the impact of Health Professionals' (HPs') religious and secular beliefs and values on the clinical encounter.…”

Does the spirituality of nurses interfere in the record of spiritual suffering diagnosis?

“…Ienne A, Fernandes RAQ, Puggina AC Some authors 28 have compared the knowledge and behavior of nursing professors and students with regard to spirituality, religiosity, and health. Results showed that more than 95% of participants stated a religious belief, 96% believed that spirituality had a strong influence on patients' health, and 77% felt the need to address the topic.…”

“…Therefore, including spirituality in nursing care can improve the relationship with patients, and can also be the opportunity for nurses to broaden their understanding of human condition instead of creating a narrow concept to be applied to a practice model. 24 In addition to the differences in perceptions between nurses and patients, some studies 13,[25][26][27][28] show that professionals do not feel prepared to provide spiritual help and do not have appropriate training for that.…”

Religiosidade e espiritualidade em oncologia: concepções de profissionais da saúde

“…O preparo dos profissionais da saúde brasileiros para lidar com a temática religiosa/espiritual também tem sido examinado (Peixoto, 2006;Tomasso, Beltrame, & Lucchetti, 2011). Alves (2004) averiguou a opinião de jovens universitários de diversos cursos sobre o ensino religioso em disciplinas da graduação.…”

“…Ambas as nutricionistas relataram não se sentirem capacitadas para lidar com a temática religiosa/espiritual, realçando a tradição biomédica da categoria. Estudos brasileiros apontam a percepção de despreparo de docentes e futuros enfermeiros (Peixoto, 2006;Tomasso et al, 2011), revelando que essa dificuldade atinge também a área da Enfermagem.…”