Abstract

Spirituality is viewed by many nursing theorists as an integral subset of personhood. However, current literature suggests that spirituality may be overlooked by health care providers when rendering holistic care. The purpose of this study was to assess the spiritual perspectives of nurse practitioners and ascertain attitudes toward providing spiritual care. A descriptive study was conducted to answer the following research questions : What are the spiritual perspectives of nurse practitioners and what are nurse practitioners' attitudes toward providing spiritual care? The theoretical framework was based on Ellison's (1983) Conceptualization of Spiritual Well- Being. The sample (N = 80) of nurse practitioners were licensed to practice in the State of Mississippi. The majority of participants (71%, n = 58) were ^ 45 years of age, and 75% (n = 60) revealed < 5 years experience as a nurse practitioner. Ninety-five percent of the sample was female. Spiritual perspectives were measured using Reed's Spiritual Perspectives Scale (SPS), and Soeken and Carson's Health Professional Spiritual Role Scale (HPSRS) measured attitudes toward providing spiritual care. The findings of the study suggested that nurse practitioners consider spirituality an important aspect in their lives and believed that providing spiritual care was important. Implications are that nursing interventions which promote spirituality must be utilized by nurse practitioners to promote holistic care. In addition, if spirituality is an important aspect of health care, nursing education must focus on spiritual matters. Recommendations are made to incorporate spiritual related issues into all areas of nursing education. This researcher also recommends a replication of this study using a larger sample.

Degree

Master of Science in Nursing (MSN)

Department

Graduate Nursing

Degree Date

8-1-1997

Publication Number

27924628

First Advisor

Dr. Melinda Rush

Second Advisor

Lorraine Hamm

Third Advisor

Dr. Mary Patricia Curtis

Document Type

Thesis

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