Filipino Nurses’ Spirituality and Provision of Spiritual Nursing Care

• Published in: Clinical nursing research 2016-12, Vol.25 (6), p.607-625
• Main Authors: Labrague, Leodoro J., McEnroe-Petitte, Denise M., Achaso, Romeo H., Cachero, Geifsonne S., Mohammad, Mary Rose A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Attitude of Health Personnel; Care; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; God; Holistic Nursing - methods; Humans; Music; Nurses; Nurses - psychology; Nursing; Nursing care; Nursing Care - methods; Philippines; Philippino; Prayer; Selfawareness; Selfreflection; Spirituality; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1054-7738; 1552-3799
• DOI: 10.1177/1054773815590966

This study was to explore the perceptions of Filipino nurses’ spirituality and the provision of spiritual nursing care. A descriptive, cross-sectional, and quantitative study was adopted for this study. The study was conducted in the Philippines utilizing a convenience sample of 245 nurses. Nurses’ Spirituality and Delivery of Spiritual Care (NSDSC) was used as the main instrument. The items on NSDSC with higher mean scores related to nurses’ perception of spirituality were Item 7, “I believe that God loves me and cares for me,” and Item 8, “Prayer is an important part of my life,” with mean scores of 4.87 (SD = 1.36) and 4.88 (SD = 1.34), respectively. Items on NSDSC with higher mean scores related to the practice of spiritual care were Item 26, “I usually comfort clients spiritually (e.g., reading books, prayers, music, etc.),” and Item 25, “I refer the client to his/her spiritual counselor (e.g., hospital chaplain) if needed,” with mean scores of 3.16 (SD = 1.54) and 2.92 (SD = 1.59). Nurse’s spirituality correlated significantly with their understanding of spiritual nursing care (r = .3376, p ≤ .05) and delivery of spiritual nursing care (r = .3980, p ≤ .05). Positive significant correlations were found between understanding of spiritual nursing care and delivery of spiritual nursing care (r = .3289, p ≤ .05). For nurses to better provide spiritual nursing care, they must care for themselves through self-awareness, self-reflection, and developing a sense of satisfaction and contentment.