Explanation of the Viewpoints and Experiences of Nurses in Intensive Care Units Regarding Religious-Spiritual Care

Research has shown that religion and religious beliefs are influential factors in adaptability to difficulties. In such cases, the individual establishes an emotional connection with religion, and God, and this connection can assist individuals in facing and overcoming problems. The purpose of this study was the explanation of experiences of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses regarding religious spiritual care.
In this qualitative study, in order to explain the nurse's experiences of providing religiousspiritual care for patients, 25 ICU nurses of Boo-Ali Sina Hospital were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews. Interviews were recorded, handwritten, coded, classified, and analyzed using conventional content analysis approach.
Nurses experiences indicate their cooperation with patients and their companions regarding the provision of religious-spiritual care in critical conditions in the ICU. Through data analysis the 2 main themes of "respecting patients’ religious beliefs" and "religious-spiritual care behaviors" and 4 sub-themes of disappointment with conventional medicine, the supportive role of nurses, Muslim beliefs, and comfort and consolation provided by beliefs were extracted.
The results suggest that nurses satisfy patients’ and their companions’ last wishes which conventional medicine cannot satisfy through respecting their beliefs.