Utilization of Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Nursing Practice in Public Hospitals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

• Main Authors: Sandhya Chandramohan, Raisuyah Bhagwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-03-01
• Series: Religions
• Subjects: spirituality; spiritual care; holistic nursing
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/7/3/23

This study explored the views of professional nurses in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa regarding the role of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing practice and investigated whether professional nurses utilize spiritually based care in nursing practice. A cross-sectional descriptive design using multistage random sampling was utilized. Five hundred and fifty questionnaires were distributed to professional nurses between December 2012 and February 2013. A total of 385 participants completed the survey questionnaire, resulting in a 77% response rate. Data was analyzed using SSPS 0.20. The data revealed that nurses see spirituality and spiritual care as an important dimension of nursing practice but need greater preparedness. Nurses need to be effectively prepared to deal with the complexity of providing ethically based personalized spiritual care in an increasingly diverse society.