Supporting mental health nurses to meet patients’ spiritual needs
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Supporting mental health nurses to meet patients’ spiritual needs

Pras Ramluggun Senior lecturer/researcher, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England
Charles Idowu Staff nurse, Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, Bath, England
Peter Sandy Senior lecturer, Department of Nursing and Allied Health, Buckinghamshire New University, Uxbridge, England
Stephen Wright Residential spiritual director, Sacred Space, Penrith, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To learn about the varying perceptions of the term spirituality

  • To recognise the potential benefits of spiritual care for patients with mental health conditions

  • To understand the actions you can take in your practice to address patients’ spiritual care needs

At the centre of nursing is a comprehensive model of holistic care provision that recognises each individual patient as an integrated whole with several interconnecting qualities, one of which is spirituality. Recognising patients’ perceptions of their health and enabling them to find meaning in managing their illnesses are important aspects of all fields of nursing. There is a wide range of literature on spirituality in nursing practice, particularly in relation to end of life care. However, less attention has been given to the spiritual care of patients with mental health conditions. Although meeting these patients’ spiritual needs is a core aspect of mental health nursing, many nurses do not feel adequately prepared to address such needs and provide optimal spiritual care.

This article examines the concept of spirituality in healthcare, emphasising its importance and outlining how it can be integrated into mental health nurses’ practice.

Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2021.e1549

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@PRamluggun

Correspondence

pramluggun@brookes.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Ramluggun P, Idowu C, Sandy P et al (2021) Supporting mental health nurses to meet patients’ spiritual needs. Mental Health Practice. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2021.e1549

Published online: 11 May 2021

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