Enhancing Holistic Approach: Spirituality in Nursing to Alleviate Stress among Patients

Health is viewed as a holistic concept. A person’s wellbeing should incorporate physical, cultural, emotional, social and spiritual elements. Today, healthcare is both faster and advanced and nursing is oriented towards task- accomplishment. Patients at the healthcare settings often foresee their uncertain outcome with extreme anxiety at the time of life threatening illness. They often require strong support to overcome their stress. Spirituality is an important force in everyday life for many people and may be especially high during times of loss. According to a CBS News poll conducted, 82% of Americans believe in God while 9% believe in some sort of spiritual or higher power. Watson’s theory of Human Caring acknowledges that spiritual awareness is one of the nurse’s responsibilities and nurses should respect the spiritual meaning of personal life since it comforts the individual.

Many researchers believe that people have a better mental health and greater adaptability to stress if they are spiritual. Spirituality is the essence of a being that permeates all of life, and this life force gives meaning to a person’s life, how a person understands, views and lives life. It is characterized by love, caring, compassion, forgiveness and the interconnectedness with self, others, nature and God/Higher power/Universal life. Stallwood & Stoll 1975, explained spirituality with a light bulb, which is analogous to a human. The glass, aluminum and other tangible materials as the physical dimension, the light and warmth of the bulb as the psychological dimension and the electrical current that energizes and ultimately provides the meaning and function for the bulb as the spiritual dimension. Researchers also believe, not only are spiritual practices among people associated with significantly lower anxiety, lesser degree and frequency of depression, lower suicide rates but are also associated with greater wellbeing, hope, optimism and meaning in life.

Spirituality in healthcare should form a space in every patient’s journey. Nursing staff have a vital role in holistic approach where spiritual care is considered an ethical responsibility by being respectful and supportive of patients’ spiritual practices. Although nursing has recognized that patients have spiritual needs, the practice of spiritual care is an infrequent and an underutilized facet of care. This may be due to the nurses’ assumption that spiritual care is the sole responsibility of pastoral care workers. In reality, the nurse is in place to comfort and support the patients in their spiritual distress, particularly of those suffering from a life threatening illness. Nurses spend more time with patients than does any other healthcare provider. Nurses cannot prevent death from occurring, but we can accompany the patient just by staying, communicating, watching and being there.

Nurses could improve their care in meeting the patients’ spiritual need in various ways. At times nurses are confused with religion and spirituality. Nurses should avoid questions that may favor a particular spiritual viewpoint such as asking the patient to state their denomination. However, acceptance and respect of patient’s spiritual and cultural practices, beliefs and values are very important. Nurses should attentively listen to their patients, holding their hands, using therapeutic communication, sitting at patients’ bedside and directly observe for indications of spiritual practices such as holding photographs of loved ones and God, rosary, prayer and meditation. This may provide nurses with significant insight about patients’ spirituality. Involving chaplains as members of the interdisciplinary health care team would aid nurses in incorporating spirituality in the care of the patient. Nurses must be sensitive to the beliefs and feelings of their patients and allow them to express their spiritual needs. Spirituality is a value that goes beyond religious affiliation that strives for respect, inspiration, meaning and purpose of life even to those who do not believe in God. Let our nurses incorporate spirituality as one of the dimensions of holistic approach in managing patients’ stress in the healthcare settings.