“It Is Food for The Soul...”: An Investigation on The Malaysian Intensive Care Nurses’ Perceptions of Spiritual Care

Abstract

Evidence shows that critically ill patients and their family members have spiritual needs in the intensive care unit. Spirituality is an abstract concept in the clinical field. Its subjective nature makes the aspects of care that are provided by the clinicians suboptimal. This article is a preliminary report of a qualitative study that was conducted to explore the perceptions of the intensive care nurses on spirituality and the care that they gave to the patients and their family members. Interviews were conducted with nurses who worked in a 25-bed intensive care unit of a tertiary government hospital in Malaysia. Data from the discussions was recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to generate codes and themes. A total of 18 nurses were included in this study. The central theme, interfaith connection, emerged through three themes: 1) Spirituality and illness are interconnected to healing; 2) Classification of spiritual care interventions in the intensive care unit; and 3) Intercepting barriers. Conclusions Nurses deemed spiritual care beneficial to critically ill patients and their family members. Barriers to spiritual care can be overcome with a model of spirituality. Further research is needed to explore the experiences of the critically ill patients and their family members in receiving care in the intensive care unit, particularly in addressing their spiritual needs and ensuring their mental health. Further studies should also include the perceptions of other professionals in intensive care in order to develop a concise model of spirituality and spiritual care in the intensive care context. Keywords: Nursing, health, spirituality, religion, critical care, mental health