Catalysts to Spiritual Care Delivery: A Content Analysis

BACKGROUND: Despite the paramount importance and direct relationship of spirituality and spiritual care with health and well-being, they are relatively neglected aspects of nursing care. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to explore Iranian nurses’ perceptions and experiences of the facilitators of spiritual care delivery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this qualitative content analysis study, a purposive maximum-variation sample of 17 nurses was recruited from teaching and private hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Data were collected from 19 individual, unstructured interviews. The conventional content-analysis approach was applied in data analysis. RESULTS: The facilitators of spiritual care delivery fall into two main themes: living to achieve cognizance of divinity and adherence to professional ethics. These two main themes are further divided into eight categories: spiritual self-care, active learning, professional belonging, personal and professional competencies, gradual evolution under divine guidance, awareness of the spiritual dimension of human beings, occurrence of awakening flashes and incidents during life, and congruence between patients’ and healthcare providers’ religious beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that the facilitators of spiritual care delivery are more personal than organizational. Accordingly, strategies to improve the likelihood and quality of spiritual care delivery should be developed and implemented primarily at the personal level.