Spirituality and Religious Diversity in Nursing: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Spirituality is a common theme in the field of healthcare research. This study aimed to examine nurses’ perceptions of spirituality in the context of the religious diversity of patients in pluri-religious settings. We performed a scoping review following the methodology on studies conducted between 2010 and 2020. We searched the following databases: CINAHL Plus, PubMed, and PsycINFO. For the identification of grey literature, the OpenGrey database was used. In total, 789 articles were reviewed. Of these, 16 met predetermined inclusion criteria. Two main overarching themes emerged from our inductive analysis: (a) the intertwining of spirituality and spiritual care in diverse religious landscapes and (b) obstacles impeding the inclusion of spiritual care in pluri-religious settings. According to our results, nurses consider that spirituality is interconnected with spiritual care for individuals from different religious backgrounds. Interpretations of spirituality in nursing practice vary widely, with spirituality and religiosity often shaped and influenced by culture and the experience of the professionals. Nurses attribute various meanings to spiritual care, most of which center on respecting personal, interpersonal, and relational aspects of religious and cultural beliefs and practices. Lack of education and specific skills, insufficient time, role ambiguity, and different religious beliefs were identified as hurdles to spiritual care. A poor work environment, a lack of patient privacy, including personal space, and a lack of compassion were also reported as deterrents to spiritual healing. More knowledge and training on different religions and spirituality are required to meet patients’ spiritual needs to better overcome these hurdles.