Soulful support: Exploring critical care nurses' spiritual caregiving towards end-of-life scenario.

Abstract

Background: Critical care nursing often involves providing care in environments where mortality is prevalent. Nurses' attitudes towards death significantly influence their approach to spiritual caregiving, which addresses patients' emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. Understanding this relationship is crucial for improving holistic care and patient outcomes.

Aim: Investigates how spiritual caregiving affects critical care nurses' attitudes towards death.

Study design: A descriptive correlational research design was used. The study included a convenient sample of 931 critical care nurses from four hospitals. Data were collected using the death attitude profile and the Arabic version of the Spiritual Caregiving Scale.

Results: Nurses showed a positive attitude towards spiritual caregiving, with mean scores ranging from 3.89 to 4.24 across spiritual subscales. However, high levels of fear (mean = 4.48, SD = 1.32) and death avoidance (mean = 4.66, SD = 1.29) were prevalent, particularly among younger, male and urban nurses. A significant positive correlation was found between spiritual caregiving and acceptance of death (r = 0.266, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.198, 0.334]), while a negative correlation was observed with fear of death (r = -0.109, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.182, -0.036]) and death avoidance (r = -0.010, p = 0.755, 95% CI [-0.083, 0.063]). Multivariate regression indicated that deeper engagement in spiritual caregiving predicted more positive or neutral attitudes towards death (B = -0.390, p < 0.001, 95% CI [-0.467, -0.313], R² = 0.117).

Conclusion: Spiritual caregiving was associated with more positive death attitudes among critical care nurses, indicating its potential to enhance holistic care in critical settings.

Relevance to clinical practice: Integrating spiritual caregiving into clinical practice enhances holistic care by addressing patients' emotional, psychological and spiritual needs while helping nurses manage their fear and avoidance of death. This approach promotes emotional resilience, job satisfaction and compassionate care, ultimately improving patient outcomes and supporting critical care nurses in delivering high-quality care in demanding, mortality-prevalent environments.