Brazilian nurses' concept of religion, religiosity, and spirituality: A qualitative descriptive study

• Published in: Nursing & health sciences 2020-12, Vol.22 (4), p.1161-1168
• Main Authors: Cunha, Vivian F. da, Pillon, Sandra C., Zafar, Shazia, Wagstaff, Christopher, Scorsolini‐Comin, Fabio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Concepts; Content analysis; Health care; Nurses; Nursing; Patient-centered care; Professional training; Qualitative research; Religion; Religiosity; Spirituality; spirituality Brazil person‐centered care
• ISSN: 1441-0745; 1442-2018
• DOI: 10.1111/nhs.12788

Evidence points toward the impact of nurses' personal views and knowledge about religion, religiosity, and spirituality on health care. This qualitative research investigates nurses' concepts of religion, religiosity, and spirituality and how they use these concepts in practice. Thirty‐four nurses were interviewed at a hospital in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Content analysis was used to organize and code the results. Three main themes generated from the interviews were (i) religiosity/spirituality as an important dimension in life; (ii) notions of religiosity and spirituality; (iii) formal knowledge of the concept of religion, religiosity, and spirituality. The results indicate that religion, religiosity and spirituality should be incorporated into nurse training to improve the comprehension and competence of nurses in these areas of practice. It is recommended that to ensure holistic and person‐centered care, there must be constant reflection on these concepts.