Eksistentiel og åndelig omsorgstræning på hospice

Background: Spiritual care can improve patients’ physical and emotional well-being, but patients at the end of life often experience that their spiritual needs are not sufficiently met by healthcare professionals.
Object: This study evaluates the effect and experiences of a training course in spiritual care for 30 nurses at a Danish hospice.
Methods: Before-and-after questionnaire and focus-group interviews were applied.
Results: The course focused primarily on the nurses and their personal and collegial reflections on spiritual care, whereas increased spiritual care for patients seemed to be a secondary outcome of the course. There was a significant statistical correlation between the nurses’ values and spirituality, and their confidence in being able to exercise spiritual care for patients.
Conclusion: The training course facilitated spiritual empowerment, collegial spiritual care, and spiritual language among the nurses, which led to increased spiritual care for patients.