Spiritual Interventions by Psychiatric Nurses
Elaine C. Cox, RN, BSN

The purpose of this descriptive exploratory survey was to examine the spiritual dimension of care utilized by 300 randomly selected registered professional psychiatric nurses currently practicing in hospitals in Missouri. Information was sought regarding the relationship between the dependent variable of practice and independent variables: (a) perceived ability to do spiritual care, (b) basic nursing education about spiritual care, (c) attitude, and (d) obstacles to giving care. The Saint Louis University School of Nursing Adaptation Framework (1979) and Stoll's Inter-Relatedness Model (1989) were used to support the study. The Piles Questionnaire, which included questions on the psychosocial and spiritual dimensions and a demographic questionnaire developed by the investigator were mailed to the home address of the 300 nurses. Ninety-one (30.3%) of the questionnaires were returned, of which 76 (25.3%) were usable. Descriptive and statistical analysis were utilized to determine frequency distribution and percentage tabulation. Kendall Tau C, Chi-square, and Pearson's Product Moment Correlation statistics were utilized to measure relationships between current practice and perceived ability to practice spiritual care. Multiple regression tests were utilized to measure relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Most of the nurses in the sample were 40-49 years old, Caucasian, and Protestant, and had worked a mean of 12 years in psychiatric nursing. Results indicated more nurses assessed and intervened in the psychosocial than in the spiritual dimensions; high correlation existed between practice and perceived ability. Little time was spent on spiritual care in the basic education program.

Attitude toward giving spiritual care was generally positive. Almost 90% of the nurses felt certain about personal spiritual beliefs and disagreed that only clergy could give spiritual care. Obstacles to spiritual care were time and institutional policy. Implications for nursing include the importance of basic and continuing education and institutional support to foster the spiritual dimension of care.