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An online survey of nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care

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  • Wilfred McSherry
  • Steve Jamieson

Abstract

Aim. This paper presents the preliminary descriptive findings from an online survey commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing to ascertain members’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Background. There is a professional requirement for nurses to achieve competence in the delivery of spiritual care and to assess and meet the spiritual needs of their patients. Recently, the area of spirituality has come under criticism bringing into question the role of the nurse with regard to the provision of spiritual care. Design. A descriptive online survey was conducted with all Royal College of Nursing members to obtain their perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in an attempt to identify what action they feel is required with regard to this aspect of nursing practice. Method. An online survey consisting of a five‐part questionnaire was developed incorporating the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. Members were asked to complete the survey during a three‐week period in March 2010. Results. Overall, 4054 Royal College of Nursing members responded, making this probably the largest UK survey ascertaining nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages were used to identify key findings. A Cronbach’s alpha of 0·80 was obtained for the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale. The preliminary analysis confirms that nurses across the full health economy in the United Kingdom consider spirituality to be a fundamental aspect of nursing. Conclusion. The findings indicate that nurses recognise that attending to the spiritual needs of patients enhances the overall quality of nursing care. However, despite all the attention given to the spiritual dimension, the majority of nurses still feel that they require more guidance and support from governing bodies to enable them to support and effectively meet their patients’ spiritual needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Wilfred McSherry & Steve Jamieson, 2011. "An online survey of nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(11‐12), pages 1757-1767, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:jocnur:v:20:y:2011:i:11-12:p:1757-1767
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2010.03547.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Arend, Richard J., 2023. "Integrating entrepreneurial and spiritual identities under uncertainty," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    2. Elizabeth Batstone & Cara Bailey & Nutmeg Hallett, 2020. "Spiritual care provision to end‐of‐life patients: A systematic literature review," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(19-20), pages 3609-3624, October.
    3. Leodoro J. Labrague & Denise M. McEnroe-Petitte & Romeo H. Achaso Jr. & Geifsonne S. Cachero & Mary Rose A. Mohammad, 2016. "Filipino Nurses’ Spirituality and Provision of Spiritual Nursing Care," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 25(6), pages 607-625, December.
    4. Elizabeth Johnston Taylor & Carla Gober-Park & Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner & Iris Mamier & Chintan K. Somaiya & Khaled Bahjri, 2019. "Nurse Religiosity and Spiritual Care: An Online Survey," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 28(5), pages 636-652, June.
    5. Fiona Timmins & Carole King & Jan MA de Vries & Martin Johnson & John G Cullen & Carol Haigh, 2018. "Altruism, honesty and religiosity in nursing students," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(19-20), pages 3687-3698, October.
    6. Sílvia Caldeira & Fiona Timmins, 2015. "Editorial: Time as presence and opportunity: the key to spiritual care in contemporary nursing practice," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(17-18), pages 2355-2356, September.
    7. Colm OBoyle & Vivienne Brady & Fiona Timmins, 2017. "Making space for spirituality in childbirth," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(19-20), pages 2823-2825, October.
    8. Jane Bacon Pfeiffer & Carla Gober & Elizabeth Johnston Taylor, 2014. "How Christian nurses converse with patients about spirituality," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 23(19-20), pages 2886-2895, October.
    9. Lauretta Luck & Harrison Ng Chok & Nancy Scott & Lesley Wilkes, 2017. "The role of the breast care nurse in patient and family care," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(21-22), pages 3422-3429, November.
    10. Li‐Fen Wu & Malcolm Koo & Hui‐Chen Tseng & Yu‐Chen Liao & Yuh‐Min Chen, 2015. "Concordance between nurses' perception of their ability to provide spiritual care and the identified spiritual needs of hospitalized patients: A cross‐sectional observational study," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 17(4), pages 426-433, December.
    11. Donna D Kincheloe & Lois M Stallings Welden & Ann White, 2018. "A Spiritual Care Toolkit: An evidence‐based solution to meet spiritual needs," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(7-8), pages 1612-1620, April.
    12. Brendan WK Chew & Lay Hwa Tiew & Debra K Creedy, 2016. "Acute care nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care: an exploratory study in Singapore," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(17-18), pages 2520-2527, September.

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