An understanding of spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds: A grounded theory study

• Published in: Journal of advanced nursing 2020-10, Vol.76 (10), p.2648-2659
• Main Authors: Niu, Yanping, McSherry, Wilfred, Partridge, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Asian cultural groups; Background; Chinese; Community centers; Community organizations; confucian; Cultural awareness; Daoist; Data collection; essence; Grounded theory; health; Health care; Health services; Human body; Meaning; Medical personnel; Misconceptions; Nurse led services; Nurses; Nursing; Qualitative research; Saturation; Social services; spiritual care; Spirituality; Understanding
• ISSN: 0309-2402; 1365-2648
• DOI: 10.1111/jan.14474

Aim To investigate the meaning of spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds living in England. Design Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory design was used. Method Twenty‐five participants were recruited from Chinese community centres after which data saturation was reached in September 2016. In‐depth interviews in Chinese were carried out. Transcribed digital recordings were translated into English. Data analysis followed the techniques of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, using NVivo11. Data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously. Results Three themes emerged from the data which provide an understanding of spirituality and spiritual care in the study context: ‘essence and nature of life’, ‘driving forces’, ‘self‐support’. Conclusion This study provides an understanding of spirituality and spiritual care from a Chinese cultural perspective. From a Daoist tradition, spirituality is seen as essence and driving force in the human body. From a Confucian viewpoint, it appears that patients saw themselves or the ‘self’ as a supporting resource. Impact The knowledge gained from this study has potential to support nurses and healthcare practitioners to identify the spiritual needs of people from Chinese backgrounds and to remove some of the Chinese misconceptions Chinese people hold about spiritual care by explaining what these concepts could mean. It could also improve cultural awareness for student nurses around what constitutes spiritual care. Further research is recommended among the wider community of health and social care workers to explore spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds living in England. 目标 探讨生活在英国的中国人对灵性和精神关怀的含义。 设计 使用了斯特劳斯（Strauss）和科尔宾（Corbin）的扎根理论设计。 方法 从中国社区中心招募25名参与者，之后数据在2016年9月达到饱和。用中文进行深入采访。转录的数字录音被翻译成英语。数据分析使用NVivo11进行开放编码、轴向编码和选择性编码技术。同时进行数据收集和分析。 结果 数据中出现了三个主题，这些主题提供了对研究背景下的灵性和精神关怀的理解：“生命的本质和性质”、“驱动力”、“自我支持”。 结论 这项研究从中国文化的角度提供了对灵性和精神关怀的理解。从道教的传统来看，灵性被视为人体的本质和驱动力。从儒家的观点来看，患者似乎将自己或“自我”视为支持资源。 影响 从这项研究中获得的知识有可能支持护士和医疗从业者识别具有中国的精神需求，并通过解释这些概念的含义来消除中国人对精神护理的一些误解。它还可以提高学生护士在精神护理的文化意识。建议在更广泛的卫生和社会护理工作者社区中进行进一步研究，以探索居住在英国的中国人的灵性和精神关怀。