BACKGROUND High maternal and perinatal mortalities occur from deliveries conducted in prayer houses in Nigeria. Although some regulatory efforts have been deployed to tackle this problem, less attention has been placed on the possible motivation for seeking prayer house intervention which could be hinged on the spiritual belief of patients about pregnancy and childbirth. This study therefore se...

The spiritual dimension of illness, health and care may be seen as a unique aspect in addition to the physical, mental and social dimension. This contribution describes experiences of patients, nurses and hospital chaplains in relation to the spiritual aspects of being ill. Qualitative research was performed with the design of a focus group study, consisting of 13 focus groups with a total of 6...

Skilful means is an important doctrine in Mahayana Buddhism. It gives the movement its pedagogical skill in teaching Dharma and spiritual care. This paper examines the importance of the Jyotis narrative in the Skill-in-Means Sutra, in which a monk violates celibacy for the sake of a woman’s happiness. This essay ties the idea of skill-in-means more intimately with modern Buddhism, examining its...

OBJECTIVES Despite growing research interest in spirituality and health, and recommendations on the importance of spiritual care in advanced cancer and palliative care, relationships between spiritual belief and psychological health near death remain unclear. We investigated (i) relationships between strength of spiritual beliefs and anxiety and depression, intake of psychotropic/analgesic medi...

Recent healthcare literature has shown an increasing interest in spiritual care and the way in which it supports patients as they deal with illness; but; as the body of evidence grows in many areas; the spiritual aspects of day surgery have been under-researched. The aims of this interpretive phenomenological study were to identify the patients’ spiritual needs and concerns prior to surgery bot...

The purpose of the present study was to explore nurses' perception about spirituality and spiritual care. A qualitative content analysis approach was conducted on 20 registered nurses interviewed using unstructured strategy in 2009. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: 1) "meaning and purpose of work and life" including 'spiritualistic view to profession', 'commitment and professional r...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to investigate nurses' and care workers' experiences of spiritual needs among residents with dementia in nursing homes. Nurses claim to practice holistic nursing. Nevertheless, there is little knowledge about how to recognise spiritual needs in residents with dementia. METHODS The study was conducted using a qualitative method with an exploratory design. Ei...

Spiritual pain/suffering is commonly experienced by persons with life-limiting illness and their families. Physical pain itself can be exacerbated by non-physical causes such as fear, anxiety, grief, unresolved guilt, depression and unmet spiritual meets. Likewise, the inability to manage physical pain well can be due to emotional and spiritual needs. This is why a holistic, interdisciplinary a...

More than 80 percent of Americans perceive religion as important. Issues of belief can affect the health care encounter, and patients may wish to discuss spirituality with their physician. Many physicians report barriers to broaching the subject of spirituality, including lack of time and experience, difficulty identifying patients who want to discuss spirituality, and the belief that addressin...