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Education and Standardized Discussion Guides to Enhance Nurses' Spiritual Care Practices in the Medical Intensive Care Unit

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2018, Doctor of Nursing Practice , Case Western Reserve University, School of Nursing.
Problem: Spiritual care is recognized as an essential component of holistic nursing care that should be provided to all patients and is linked to improved health outcomes, quality of life, patient satisfaction, and coping. Despite the acknowledgement of spiritual care as a requisite of quality nursing practice, it is rarely incorporated into patient care and nurses feel uncomfortable and unprepared to provide it. Purpose: Determine how implementation of a spiritual care education session and standardized spiritual care discussion guides in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) affects nurses' behaviors and attitudes towards providing spiritual patient support. Methods: A pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design was used to guide this pilot study. A convenience sample of 12 nurses participated in the study. All received a 20-minute spiritual care education session, and were given a printed spiritual care pocket-guide resource, and spiritual care discussion guides meant to structure the nurses' assessment of patients' spiritual needs for routine and end-of-life circumstances. Demographic information, and spiritual practice data was obtained using the Spiritual Care Practice Questionnaire before and after exposure to the intervention. Statistical analysis using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and McNemar test determined that nurses reported more frequently providing therapeutic communication to help patients reflect on their spirituality, making arrangements for patients to participate in spiritual practices, and personally participating in practices to enhance their spirituality after the intervention (p < .05). A statistical difference was also noted in nurses' perceived comfort level assessing and meeting patients' spiritual needs ( p = .05). Nurses indicated that the discussion guides were useful and had positive impacts on interactions with patients and families at end of life. No statistical significance among demographic variables and survey responses, or perceived barriers to spiritual care after the intervention was found. Significance: While previous research has focused on nurses' perception of spiritual care and the impact it has on patients and families, this study has added vital information about interventions to improve spiritual care and nurses' comfort providing it. In addition to enhancing nurses' spiritual care practices, preliminary findings from this research indicate that standardized spiritual care discussion guides and pocket-guide resources are useful for nurses when approaching the topic of spiritual care with patients and families.
Gayle Petty (Advisor)
Mary Terhaar (Committee Member)
Amy Greene (Committee Member)
74 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Patton, L. A. (2018). Education and Standardized Discussion Guides to Enhance Nurses' Spiritual Care Practices in the Medical Intensive Care Unit [Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casednp1519836081431734

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Patton, Lauren. Education and Standardized Discussion Guides to Enhance Nurses' Spiritual Care Practices in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. 2018. Case Western Reserve University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casednp1519836081431734.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Patton, Lauren. "Education and Standardized Discussion Guides to Enhance Nurses' Spiritual Care Practices in the Medical Intensive Care Unit." Doctoral dissertation, Case Western Reserve University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=casednp1519836081431734

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)