Patients of parish nurses experience renewed spiritual identity: a grounded theory study

What Are the Characteristics of the Parish Nursing Research Literature and How Can it Inform Parish Nurse Practice and Research in Canada? A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Parish nursing is a specialized branch of professional nursing that promotes health and healing by integrating body, mind and spirit as a practice model. Parish nurses contribute to the Canadian nursing workforce by promoting individual and community health and acting as system navigators. Research related to parish nursing practice has not been systematically collated and evaluated.

PURPOSE

This review seeks to explore, critically appraise and synthesize the parish nurse (PN) research literature for its breadth and gaps, and to provide recommendations for PN practice and research.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using Levac and colleagues' procedures and Arksey and O'Malley's enhanced framework. The CINAHL, ProQuest and PubMed databases were comprehensively searched for original research published between 2008 and 2020. The final sample includes 43 articles. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to critically assess literature quality.

RESULTS

There is a significant gap in PN research from Canada and non-U.S. countries. Methodological quality is varied with weak overall reporting. The literature is categorized under three thematic areas: (1) practice roles of the PN, (2) role implementation, and (3) program evaluation research. Research that evaluates health promotion program interventions is prominent.

CONCLUSIONS

More rigorous research methods and the use of reporting checklists are needed to support evidence-informed parish nursing practice. Building relationships among parish nurses, nursing researchers and universities could advance parish nursing research and improve evidence-based parish nursing practice. Research into the cost effectiveness, healthcare outcomes, and the economic value of PN practice is needed.

The State of Research on Faith Community Nursing in Public Health Interventions: Results from a Systematic Review

Though faith community nurses (FCNs) serve many roles in churches and communities, little is known about their roles or effectiveness in public health interventions. This systematic review summarizes the literature on recent faith community nursing interventions, examining trends, evaluating rigor, and proposing future research directions. Articles were downloaded from PubMed and CINAHL, and 24 studies were included. Interventions addressed various health outcomes. The FCNs participated in research by recruiting participants, developing study measures, and implementing programs. Results reported mainly process evaluation and provided few outcomes. Better evaluation is needed to understand the effectiveness of FCNs in public health research.

A Concept Analysis of Spiritual Health

Spiritual health is an important dimension of health and forms part of a comprehensive care. This study was conducted to redefine and clarify the components of spiritual health based on different worldviews through Walker and Avant's concept analysis method. Being given a life and a soul and having beliefs are the antecedents of spiritual health. The attributes of this concept include a morality-oriented intellectual connectedness with the self, others, and the universe guided by a connection with the Transcendent and Superior being in order to create meaning in life and find its purpose in the context of culture and religion; transcendence is ultimately the consequence of spiritual heath. Using the attributes appeared in this conceptual analysis, nurses can evaluate the spiritual health of their clients and help them create positive outcome by providing appropriate interventions.

Impacting Depression in Homebound Elderly: A CREATION Health Intervention for Faith Community Nurses

Depression among homebound older adults is a significant problem. This pilot project examined the effect of a faith community nurse (FCN) educational intervention based on the CREATION Health Model, on depression in older homebound adults. Results showed a downward trend in depression scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale: Short Form, suggesting that FCN interventions and the CREATION Health Model may be helpful for decreasing depression in this group.

The grounded theory of "trust building"

BACKGROUND

Despite the growing importance of spiritual care, the delivery of spiritual care is still an area of disagreement among healthcare providers.

OBJECTIVE

To develop a grounded theory about spiritual care delivery based on Iranian nurses' perceptions and experiences.

A GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH

A qualitative study using the grounded theory approach.

PARTICIPANTS AND RESEARCH CONTEXT

Data were collected through holding 27 interviews with 25 participants (17 staff nurses, 3 physicians, 3 patients, 1 family member, and 1 nurse assistant). The study setting was the Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex. Sampling was started purposively and continued theoretically. Data analysis was performed by the method proposed by Strauss and Corbin.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATION

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tarbiat Modares University and the agreement of the administrators of the study setting was got before starting the study.

RESULTS

The core category of the study was "Trust building" which reflected the nature of spiritual care delivery by nurses. Trust building was the result of eight main categories or strategies including creating a positive mentality at hospital admission, understanding patients in care circumstances, having a caring presence, adhering to care ethics, developing meaningful relationships, promoting positive thinking and energy, establishing effective communication with patients, and attempting to create a safe therapeutic environment. Poor interprofessional coordination negatively affected this process while living toward developing greater cognizance of divinity and adhering to the principles of professional ethics facilitated it. The outcome of the process was to gain a sense of partial psychological security.

CONCLUSION

The "Trust building" theory can be used as a guide for describing and expanding nurses' roles in spiritual care delivery, developing care documentation systems and clinical guidelines, and planning educational programs for nursing students and staff nurses.

The Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Quality of Life Among Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Patients with chronic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), are prone to emotional distresses and reduction in life quality more than others. This study aimed to assess the relationship between religious beliefs and quality of life among patients with MS. In this study, 145 MS patients completed 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) questionnaires. The results indicated that unorganized religious activities were significantly associated with marital status and education level. Besides, internal religion was positively correlated to mental health. However, religious variables were not effective prognostic factors in physical and mental quality of life. Overall, further studies have to be conducted to determine the role of religion in quality of life of MS patients with different religious backgrounds.

Spiritual development in Iranian nurses

BACKGROUND

Spiritual development is one of the most important aspects of socialization that has attracted the attention of researchers. It is needed to train nursing student and novice nurses to provide high-quality care for patients. There is ambiguity in the definition of spiritual development and its relations, especially in the eastern countries.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To explore the concept of spiritual development in Iranian nurses.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Qualitative content analysis approach. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews. Participants and research context: The participants were 17 Iranian Muslim nurses selected using a purposeful sampling. The place of interviews was on their choice. Ethical considerations: Based on the principles of the Helsinki declaration, the focus was on preserving the participants' autonomy, confidentiality, and anonymity. The participants were told the study purposes and trends, and their rights were emphasized; they were then asked to sign written consent forms. Formal research approval was obtained from Kerman University of Medical Sciences. Ethical approval was granted by the University Ethics Committee before the study was conducted (K/92 etc).

FINDINGS

Three themes for spiritual development were defined: obligation to religion, commitment to ethics, and commitment to law. From the results, factors such as connection to the limitless divine power, personal and society-oriented ethical codes, and commitment to the law are proposed.

DISCUSSION

There are some differences between these findings and previous study, especially in the relation of the spirituality, religion, and law. Some studies, mostly Iranian, support these findings partially.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that it is better to teach nursing education based on humanistic principles, ethics, and law to the new generation of nurses to improve community health and development. More studies are needed to examine the relation between these themes.

Concept Analysis of Spirituality: An Evolutionary Approach

AIM

The aim of this article is to clarify the concept of spirituality for future nursing research.

BACKGROUND

Previous concept analyses of spirituality have mostly reviewed the conceptual literature with little consideration of the empirical literature. The literature reviewed in prior concept analyses extends from 1972 to 2005, with no analysis conducted in the past 9 years.

DESIGN

Rodgers' evolutionary framework was used to review both the theoretical and empirical literature pertaining to spirituality. Evolutionary concept analysis is a formal method of philosophical inquiry, in which papers are analyzed to identify attributes, antecedents, and consequences of the concept.

DATA SOURCE

Empirical and conceptual literature.

RESULTS

Three defining attributes of spirituality were identified: connectedness, transcendence, and meaning in life. A conceptual definition of spirituality was proposed based on the findings. Also, four antecedents and five primary consequences of spirituality were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

Spirituality is a complex concept. This concept analysis adds some clarification by proposing a definition of spirituality that is underpinned by both conceptual and empirical research. Furthermore, exemplars of spirituality, based on prior qualitative research, are presented to support the findings. Hence, the findings of this analysis could guide future nursing research on spirituality.

Feeling safe during an inpatient hospitalization: a concept analysis

AIM

This paper aims to explore the critical attributes of the concept feeling safe.

BACKGROUND

The safe delivery of care is a high priority; however; it is not really known what it means to the patient to 'feel safe' during an inpatient hospitalization. This analysis explores the topic of safety from the patient's perspective.

DESIGN

Concept analysis.

DATA SOURCES

The data bases of CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo and Google Scholar for the years 1995-2012 were searched using the terms safe and feeling safe.

METHODS

The eight-step concept analysis method of Walker and Avant was used to analyse the concept of feeling safe. Uses and defining attributes, as well as identified antecedents, consequences and empirical referents, are presented. Case examples are provided to assist in the understanding of defining attributes.

RESULTS

Feeling safe is defined as an emotional state where perceptions of care contribute to a sense of security and freedom from harm. Four attributes were identified: trust, cared for, presence and knowledge. Relationship, environment and suffering are the antecedents of feeling safe, while control, hope and relaxed or calm are the consequences. Empirical referents and early development of a theory of feeling safe are explored.

CONCLUSION

This analysis begins the work of synthesizing qualitative research already completed around the concept of feeling safe by defining the key attributes of the concept. Support for the importance of developing patient-centred models of care and creating positive environments where patients receive high-quality care and feel safe is provided.