Content Analysis of the Meaning of Spiritual Care as Perceived by Nursing Students

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the meaning of spiritual care as perceived by nursing students. Methods: This study used a descriptive research design, and the participants were 126 fourth-year nursing students from three nursing colleges. Data were collected from August to September 2019, and were analyzed using the content analysis method. Results: Four themes of spiritual care with 15 sub-themes were extracted from the content analysis: 1) "promoting spiritual well-being" (sub-themes: "providing religious help", "caring for the patient as a spiritual being", and "presupposing human dignity regardless of religion"); 2) "taking place in actual nursing practice" (representative sub-themes: "considering the perspective of the patient", "reducing suffering"); 3) "caring for the multifaceted needs of human beings" (representative sub-themes: "providing physical, mental, and spiritual care", "caring for both the mental and physical health of the patient"), and 4) "growing together" (sub-themes: "positively affecting patient well-being", "beginning with the nurse's selftranscendence"). Conclusion: These results suggest that nursing students consider spiritual care to be a highly positive and practical form of nursing care. However, because few students have been exposed to religion and spirituality, more systematic training should be provided.

Kesejahteraan Spiritualitas Dapat Meningkatkan Kualitas Hidup Pasien Kanker

“…Kesejahteraan Spiritualitas sebagai pencarian makna dan tujuan hidup serta secara fundamental mengintegrasikan berbagai dinamika kehidupan manusia. Spiritualitas merupakan elemen penting manusia dan mewakili esensi dari tujuan hidup manusia (Fradelos et al, 2021;Shin et al, 2020).…”

Spirituality and Spiritual Care among Ethnic Chinese Residing in England: Implications for Nursing

“…Participants linked spirituality and spiritual care to aspects of physical, psychological and social health, specifically focusing on physical illness. This is reflected in the work of Sun-Hwa et al (2020) and Lewinson (2016), from the perspective of nursing students, that found that people's physical health was considered a priority in nurses' spiritual care plans in the hospitals of South Korea and the UK. In this study on spiritual care, participants highlighted the importance of physical care mainly from the healthcare user's perspective, equating spiritual care with physical care or physical health concerns in Chinese communities.…”