Islamic Perspective on Nursing and the Philosophy of Science

Abstract

Although nursing theory developed in the modern Western scientific tradition has universal aspects, it is important to consider the different philosophies, beliefs and cultures of each different society to enrich the perspective and practice of nursing that is more sensitive to the patient’s background. As supported by the Transcultural Nursing Theory, in treating patients a nurse needs to pay attention to and respect the cultural preferences and beliefs of the patient. In this context, this article wants to contribute by describing the Islamic perspective on nursing in the context of nursing philosophy. Methods: This literature review uses articles published from 2018-2022 with source from databased ScienceDirect, Scopus, Sage Journals, EBSCO-Host, Springer Link, and ProQuest. The keywords used are Islamic, perspective, nursing, caring. Article selection follows “PRISMA” flow. Results: This systematic review have a total of 8 articles meet the criteria for analysis. This article has relevance both in Muslim-majority countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Middle Eastern countries, as well as countries where Muslims are a minority. We found 8 articles presents a number of opinions or research results that examine nursing issues and those related to it from an Islamic perspective. From a number of opinions and research findings studied, it can be concluded that although it can be said to offer universal core values, the Islamic perspective has fundamental differences with Western nursing philosophy or theory, especially in terms of the source of knowledge, the basic view of humans, and the importance of spirituality in nursing.