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Qualitative Health Research
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Mapping the Processes and Qualities of Spiritual Nursing Care

Tracy Carr

University of New Brunswick, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, tcarr{at}unbsj.ca

Although the importance of spiritual care is widely recognized in nursing theory, recent research suggests that it is rarely attended to in nursing practice. One explanation for this contradiction is the conceptual confusion that exists regarding the meaning of spiritual nursing care. To help unravel this confusion, in-depth open-ended interviews were conducted in an oncology care setting with 29 individuals representing the multiple perspectives of nurses, patients, family, and others. Phenomenological analysis of these interviews reveals that spiritual nursing care involves a complexity of social processes, of which developing caring relationships is core. For these social processes to work and for spiritual nursing care to be realized, the nurse must embody four essential human qualities: receptivity, humanity, competency, and positivity. Participants' descriptions of these processes and qualities not only offer clarity and understanding but also capture the diffuse and amorphous nature of spiritual nursing care.

Key Words: spiritual care • nursing • phenomenology • cancer

This version was published on May 1, 2008

Qualitative Health Research, Vol. 18, No. 5, 686-700 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1049732307308979
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