Tanzanian nurses' understanding of spirituality and practice of spiritual care

Abstract

Spirituality is an integral part of a person’s wholeness and therefore has an effect on and plays an important role in health and illness. Nurses are required by national and international nursing bodies as well as hospital accreditation agencies, to identify patients’ spiritual needs and intervene by integrating spiritual care into their nursing care. However, to date, no nursing studies have described Tanzanian nurses’ experiences of spirituality and spiritual care. The qualitative method of interpretive description was used. A purposive sample of fifteen registered nurses who were engaged in direct clinical practice at one of the private not-for-profit hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was drawn. In-depth interviews using open-ended questions were carried out, tape-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. The data collection and analysis occurred concurrently. The transcripts were coded using inductive analysis. Themes related to spirituality and spiritual care that emerged from data were: meaning of spirituality, meaning of spiritual care, recognition of spiritual needs, interventions to respond to spiritual needs, challenges addressing spiritual care, and factors positively influencing the provision of spiritual care. Several recommendations for enhancing spiritual caregiving practices were given by participants. The findings from this study offer a basis for assessment, planning, and intervention strategies that nurses can apply in integrating spiritual care in clinical practice.