Nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care

Abstract

Objective: The study was conducted to determine the perceptions of nurses regarding spirituality and spiritual care.

Design: This descriptive-type study was carried out in three hospitals in a province in the west of Turkey. The study’s population was made up of 733 nurses working in these hospitals and the sample consisted of 289 nurses who agreed to take part in the study. The data were collected using the nurses’ defining characteristics data form and the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale.

Results: It was established that 96.9% of the nurses included in the study had not received any training regarding spirituality and spiritual healing. The Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale point average for nurses in the study was determined to be 62.43±7.54.

Conclusions: It was established that nurses do not receive sufficient training on the subject of spiritual care, both before and after graduation; but also that their perception of the topic is quite high.