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Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Nursing

Thesis Committee Chairperson

Diane Ryan, PhD, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, GNP-BC, CNE

Second Reader

Janice Hobba-Glose, DNS, MSN, RN

Keywords

Saudi Arabia, Islam, spirituality, spiritual care, nurses, perception, nurse education

Abstract

Spiritual care is an essential component of holistic nursing care, as essential as other patients’ needs. However, spiritual care has been found not consistently provided for patients. Watson’s Theory of Human Caring (1979) was used as the theoretical framework for this descriptive, quantitative study. A literature search found no studies that examined Saudi Arabian nurses’ perception of spirituality and spiritual care (SSC). The goals of this study were to explore Saudi Arabian nurses’ perceptions of SSC, to identify whether their patients' spiritual needs are recognized during care, and to find the extent of SSC presently in Saudi nursing education. A convenience sample of 40 nurses completed an online survey using an adaptation of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS). The findings of the current study suggested that nurses had moderate SSC perception scores. There were significant differences in nurses’ responses related to gender, age, and years of experience; however, no significant differences were identified related to nurses’ educational level or region of residence. Nurses reported being able to meet patients’ spiritual needs; however, they felt they had not received sufficient education concerning spiritual care. Findings demonstrate an urgent need for additional education in SSC to help meet the spiritual needs of patients. Although the small sample size limits generalization of the findings, they can assist nurse educators and managers to incorporate SSC into nursing education. Further research is required to identify spiritual care interventions that may be implemented by nurses in a Muslim society as well as investigate barriers to spiritual care practice.

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