Respecting the Spiritual Beliefs of Patients from the Perspective of Nurses: A Qualitative Study

Hospitalized patients have different religious and worship needs. Understanding these needs and planning care in order to meet these needs are essential to performing holistic care. The aim of the present study was to explain the worship and religious needs of patients from the perception of clinical nurses. This was a qualitative study with content analysis approach. In total, 23 nurses of diverse age and gender, and work experience at different wards and in different posts, were selected with purposeful sampling method and participated in the study. Data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The data analysis method used in this study was content analysis based on constant comparative analysis. Data analysis revealed the main theme to be respect for beliefs and values. Subthemes were honoring the family, commemorating religious rituals, recognizing values, and having faith. Cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds have an important impact on health care and on the way of understanding decisions. Nurses will be able to promote physical, spiritual, and moral health of patients and their family by deepening the human dimensions and creating a relationship based on respect toward their religious practices.