BACKGROUND Patients with incurable, progressive disease receiving palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa experience high levels of spiritual distress with a detrimental impact on their quality of life. Locally validated measurement tools are needed to identify patients' spiritual needs and evaluate and improve spiritual care, but up to now such tools have been lacking in Africa. The African Pall...

Nurses need to assess patients and provide care that encompasses the mind, body, and spirit. However, in many cases, nurses may not know what to say to the patient, may be uncomfortable with silence, may not want to pry into the patient’s personal life, or may feel hesitant to invade the patient’s private ‘‘space.’’ In 1 study, nurses reveal that 92% of the time, they feel inadequately prepared...

The aim of this review article is describing a research on spiritual and religious interventions in Iran. An integrative review was conducted to determine the state of the science in Iran. Iranmedex, Scientific Information Database, Irandoc, Noormags, Magiran and Google scholar were searched to find articles published in peer-reviewed journals from August 2002 to August 2012. A qualitative appr...

The neuroscience literature supports the idea that spiritual transformation is a powerful behavioral and cognitive change process involving fundamental alterations in the sense of self. Brain regions that are known to mediate the sense of self are activated during religious experiences that in turn underwrite spiritual transformation. Because religious experiences are fundamental to spiritual t...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To explore the core constitutive patterns from the perspective of the older patient with terminal cancer, the major foci of spiritual needs, and professional actions that manifest tangibly as spiritual care. DESIGN Hermeneutic inquiry. SETTING Two leading teaching hospitals in Taiwan. SAMPLE 35 older patients with terminal cancer with a life expectancy of three months. ...

Background The literature reviews show that taking care of dying newborns for a nurse is associated with stress and anxiety, and nurses will be faced with many challenges, the present study aimed to explain the spiritual challenges experienced by nurses in neonatal end of life in the NICU. Materials and Methods The present study was conducted with a qualitative method ­and "purposive" sampling....

The purpose of this study was to develop a midrange theory, building on Orem’s self-care deficit nursing theory (SCDNT) to include constructs of religion, spirituality, and spiritual self-care practices. This mid-range theory, White’s theory of spirituality and spiritual self-care (WTSSSC), was developed and tested as part of a larger study of African American patients with heart failure (HF). ...

PURPOSE This article presents a model for research and practice that expands on the biopsychosocial model to include the spiritual concerns of patients. DESIGNS AND METHODS Literature review and philosophical inquiry were used. RESULTS The healing professions should serve the needs of patients as whole persons. Persons can be considered beings-in-relationship, and illness can be considered ...

For many patients confronted with chronic diseases, spirituality/religiosity is an important resource for coping. Patients often report unmet spiritual and existential needs, and spiritual support is also associated with better quality of life. Caring for spiritual, existential and psychosocial needs is not only relevant to patients at the end of their life but also to those suffering from long...