Exploring nurses' perception and experiences of spiritual care in a coronary care unit.

Abstract

The literature review highlighted the role of spirituality and the importance of spiritual care within a healthcare context, especially for the nursing profession. However, it was apparent that spiritual care is often overlooked by, healthcare professionals, in acute settings. Therefore this research proposal aims to explore the nurses' perception and experiences of providing spiritual care within a coronary care unit; explore any assessment tools or documentations in place for the staff and patients in relation to spirituality; to gain an insight of the current practices in an acute setting and identify potential barriers that the nurses face in the delivery of an effective spiritual care. The study will be exploratory, and will take place over the course of two weeks. The nurses who voluntarily consent to take part will be interviewed regarding their perception and experiences of spiritual care within the coronary care unit. The findings will allow a better understanding of the provision of spiritual care in an acute setting, and, hopefully, will be beneficial for nurses and other healthcare professionals that aim to improve their delivery of spiritual care.