Effects of a spiritual care training for nurses

J.P. Vlasblom, J.T. van der Steen, D.L. Knol, H. Jochemsen

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Despite the fact that spiritual care is an essential part of nursing care according to many nursing definitions, it appears to be quite different in practice. A spirituality training for nurses may be necessary to give spiritual care the attention it deserves. In a trial a pre-tested "spirituality and nursing care" training was provided to nurses from four different nursing wards in a non-academic, urban hospital. Prior to the training and six weeks after the training, nurses and all patients were asked to fill up a questionnaire. In addition, the number of referrals from nurses to the chaplaincy was examined. Compared to before (n = 44 patients), after the training (n = 31), the patients from the intervention wards experienced more receptiveness and support when asking questions about illness and meaning. There were also specific changes in nurses' attitudes and knowledge, changes in clinical practice such as documenting spiritual needs and the number of referrals to the chaplains was higher. The results indicate that a training in spiritual care for nurses may have positive effects on health care that patients can experience. © 2010.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)790-796
    JournalNurse Education Today
    Volume31
    Issue number8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

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