Bridging the gap: Normalising spiritual care in undergraduate nursing education: A review of qualitative research

Abstract

To summarise the qualitative evidence exploring the attitudes and experiences of undergraduate nursing students involving spiritual care. Understanding patients' spiritual needs allows nurses to provide support and comfort during illness and recovery. However, no consensus exists on how to teach and deliver spiritual care in the undergraduate nursing curriculum. A review of qualitative research METHODS: Systematic database searches included CINAHL Plus with full text, EMBASE, PubMed and Medline. The review was reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. The reviewers independently conducted study selection, quality appraisal and data extraction. The included studies were appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme tool. Thematic analysis guided by Thomas and Harden was used. Twelve papers were included in this review. Thematic analysis revealed three overarching themes: (1) a complex understanding of spirituality and spiritual care, (2) a lack of comprehensive education on spirituality and spiritual care and (3) a quest to normalise spirituality and spiritual care among nursing students. This systematic review affirms the need to include the subject of spiritual care in the early stages of undergraduate nursing programs. More research is needed to examine how new nursing graduates incorporate spiritual care in their clinical practice and the barriers they face. Like other literature, there is a need for a clear definition of spirituality and spiritual care to allow student nurses to understand spirituality and spiritual care better and will enable them to integrate them into their future practice fully.