Spiritual care provided by Thai nurses in intensive care units.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to explore how Thai nurses in intensive care units of a university hospital in Bangkok provided spiritual care to their patients.


BACKGROUND
The function of nursing is to promote health, prevent illness, restore health and alleviate suffering. An holistic approach to this promotion includes spirituality.


METHODS
An explorative qualitative study was used.


METHODS
Thirty Thai nurses, selected through purposive sampling with the snowball technique, participated voluntarily. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were carried out, taped-recorded, transcribed verbatim and subjected to content analysis.


RESULTS
Five themes related to the provision of spiritual care emerged: giving mental support, facilitating religious rituals and cultural beliefs, communicating with patients and patients' families, assessing the spiritual needs of patients and showing respect and facilitating family participation in care. Several ways of improving the spiritual care were suggested by the nurses.


CONCLUSIONS
Spirituality was an important part of the care for the nurses when meeting the needs of their patients and the patients' families. Therefore, nursing education should enhance nurses' understanding and awareness of spiritual issues and prepare them to respond to human spiritual needs.


CONCLUSIONS
Nurses should consider spirituality as an important component of holistic care. During their professional career, they should expand their knowledge and understanding of spirituality and develop tools for assessment of spiritual needs.
Lundberg
Pranee C
PC
Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, SE-75122 Uppsala, Sweden. Pranee.Lundberg@pubcare.uu.se
Kerdonfag
Petcharat
P
D000328:Adult; D002016:Buddhism; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D018939:Holistic Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control; D013785:Thailand