The relationship between the strength of religious faith and spirituality in relation to post-traumatic growth among nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in eastern Poland: a cross-sectional study

• Published in: Frontiers in psychiatry 2024-01, Vol.14, p.1331033
• Main Authors: Nowicki, Grzegorz Józef, Schneider-Matyka, Daria, Godlewska, Iwona, Tytuła, Andrzej, Kotus, Marzena, Walec, Monika, Grochans, Elżbieta, Ślusarska, Barbara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: COVID-19; nurses; post-traumatic growth; Psychiatry; religion; spirituality
• ISSN: 1664-0640; 1664-0640
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1331033

The COVID-19 pandemic had forced intensive care unit (ICU) nurses to adapt to extreme conditions in a short period of time. This resulted in them experiencing extremely stressful situations. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between post-traumatic growth (PTG) and religiosity and spirituality (R/S) among nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in intensive care during the pandemic. 120 nurses working in Lublin, eastern Poland, participated in the cross-sectional study. The questionnaire was made up of three standardised tools: The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire, The Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List. In terms of spirituality, the study group of nurses achieved the highest score in the Connectedness with Nature subscale (4.37 ± 1.07), while the strength of religious beliefs had a positive correlation with post-traumatic growth only in the Spiritual changes subscale (  = 0.422,