Strengths and challenges with spiritual care: Student feedback from the EPICC Spiritual Care Self-Assessment Tool.

AIM: To explore qualitative data from students' self-reported competencies in spiritual care gathered during testing of a student self-assessment tool based on the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard. DESIGN: Reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative data from a multinational study on validating a new self-assessment tool. METHODS: The EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard for competency in spiritual care was developed to enhance nurses' and midwives' ability to provide spiritual care by creating a baccalaureate education standard for spiritual care competencies. Spiritual care researchers then developed a self-assessment tool to raise student awareness of spirituality and track personal and professional growth in spiritual care competency. The EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool, tested at eight universities in five countries, provided many opportunities for student comments, resulting in rich qualitative data presented here. RESULTS: Themes related to strengths, weaknesses and areas for improvement. Identified strengths were similar across countries: caring attitudes, general knowledge of caring and compassion and good communication skills. Weaknesses/challenges touched on spirituality as overlooked in some cultures but part of life for others, complex questions were hard to understand, and self-assessment tools are common for some and rare for others. Areas for improvement included need for knowledge of religious and other deeply held beliefs and for greater spiritual assessment skills. Similarities across countries related to basic training in communication and compassionate care for nurses globally. Differences lay in the challenges and/or barriers for spiritual care and may relate to cultures within countries and/or university test sites. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The Tool raises awareness of spirituality among students and working nurses, providing an accessible way to self-check personal and professional growth in spiritual care competencies, which increases student and nurse capacity to become more knowledgeable and skilled in facilitating spiritual care, thus be role models for students at the intersection of spirituality and health.

Validation Study of the Revised Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS): A Cross-Sectional Survey in Poland.

Introduction: The use of a validated scale, Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS) to measure nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Aim: The purpose of this study was to analyse selected psychometric properties of the Polish version of the SSCRS, among them the applicability of the dimensions of spiritual care in nursing, ie, spirituality, spiritual care, religiosity and personalized care, to Polish conditions. Methods: Poland-wide multicentre study with a cross-sectional validation design. The study was conducted between March and June 2019. Seven Polish Nursing Faculties accepted the invitation to participate in the study. A representative sample of 853 nurses enrolled in MSc (postgraduate) programs in nursing participated. After translation and cultural adaption of the SSCRS, the instrument underwent a full psychometric evaluation of its construct validity using (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis), internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha and correlation analysis), reliability (test-retest analysis), known-group validity (Student's t-test) analysis. Results: The exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the Polish version of the SSCRS was a three-factor model with "Activity-centred spiritual care" (9 items), "Emotional support-centred spiritual care" (5 items) and "Religiosity" (3 items) domains. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole scale was 0.902, and the alpha values for the individual domains were 0.898, 0.873 and 0.563, respectively. The three domains mentioned above seemed to provide a comprehensive understanding of spiritual care perceived subjectively by Polish MSc in nursing students. Conclusion: This study demonstrated a substantial degree of similarity in the selected psychometric characteristics of the Polish version of SSCRS and the original scale.

Developing and testing the EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool for student nurses and midwives.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To develop and psychometrically test a self-assessment tool that measures undergraduate nursing and midwifery students' perceptions of spiritual care competence in health care practice. BACKGROUND: Spiritual care is part of nurses/midwives' responsibility. There is a need to better benchmark students' competency development in spiritual care through their education. The EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard served as groundwork for the development of the EPICC Spiritual Care Competency Self-Assessment Tool. DESIGN: Cross sectional, mixed methods design. A STROBE checklist was used. METHODS: The Tool (available in English, Dutch and Norwegian) was developed by an international group. It was tested between July-October 2020 with a convenience sample of 323 nursing/midwifery students at eight universities in five countries. The Tool was tested for validity using Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, one-way ANOVA and independent samples t test. The reliability was tested by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: The KMO test for sampling adequacy was 0.90. All, but two, items were related to the same factor. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the Tool was 0.91. Students found the Tool easy to use, and they gained new insights by completing it. However, students felt that some questions were repetitive and took time to complete. CONCLUSIONS: The Tool has construct and discriminant validity, and high internal consistency (is reliable). In addition, students found the Tool useful, especially in early stages of education. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The Tool affords student nurses and midwives the opportunity to self-evaluate their knowledge, skills and attitudes about spirituality and spiritual care. The Tool offers students, educators and preceptors in clinical practice a tangible way of discussing and evaluating spiritual care competency.

Validation of the Italian version of the spirituality and spiritual care rating scale (SSCRS-ita).

PURPOSE: To translate and validate the Italian version of the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS-ita). METHODS: A single-center cross-sectional study was performed from October 15 to November 15, 2019 in a public hospital in Milan, Italy. The scale was drafted using the back-translation method. Prior to administration, the Italian version of the scale was assessed for content validity and retest stability by calculating the content validity index. Internal consistency was investigated by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient, test-retest stability by Spearman's rho coefficient. FINDINGS: A total n = 337 nurses participated in the survey by correctly completing the scale. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test (0.81) and Bartlett's test of sphericity (p < 0.001) confirmed the adequacy of the sample to conduct exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The factorial model of EFA without rotation and then with nonorthogonal Promax rotation confirmed the presence of the four constructs identified by the original author. CONCLUSIONS: SSCRS-ita showed promising psychometric properties in terms of validity and reliability. The results of this study, together with the lack of in-depth studies in the Italian health and educational panorama, suggest the need to develop an educational pathway which, starting from the curricula of basic training and continuing with the updating of nursing staff, is dedicated to the detection of the spiritual needs of the patient. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: The SSCRS-ita is the first validated Italian tool concerning the consideration of the needs of spirituality and spiritual care in healthcare contexts; the possibility to use this tool is the first step towards a better integration of the mentioned dimensions of care in a nursing care qualitative perspective in Italy.

Development of a spiritual care education matrix: Factors facilitating/hindering improvement of spiritual care competency in student nurses and midwives.

Spiritual care is a fundamental aspect of caring and compassionate nursing/midwifery practice. However, nurses/midwives consistently report feeling unprepared to provide spiritual care for various reasons. A key reason appears to be the lack of structured spiritual care education in undergraduate nursing/midwifery curricula. Between 2016 and 2019, the three-year, European EPICC project ('Enhancing nurses' and midwives' competence in Providing spiritual care through Innovative education and 'Compassionate Care') sought to address gaps in nursing/midwifery competence in spiritual care. A key project output, and the focus of this paper, is the EPICC Gold Standard Matrix for Spiritual Care Education ('EPICC Matrix'), which depicts the complex array of factors hindering/facilitating the development of nursing/midwifery spiritual care competency. The EPICC project followed two major studies that identified factors contributing to nursing/midwifery spiritual care competency development. This evidence, along with the mixed methods focus of the EPICC project to enable co-projection of its outputs informed the development of the EPICC Matrix. The EPICC Matrix was considered to represent 'the cultural, social and political environment in which spiritual care competency develops' in student nurses/midwives. The EPICC Matrix illustrates spiritual care educational considerations during the process of selecting suitable nursing/midwifery students; through the specific aspects of the teaching and learning environment, the student as a person, and the clinical environment in which spiritual care competency develops; and finally, how the student is assessed as competent in providing spiritual care. Recent research supports the use of the EPICC Matrix in undergraduate nursing/midwifery curricula and strengthens the case for support of the other EPICC project outputs, including: the EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard, EPICC Adoption Toolkit, and the continuation of the EPICC Network. Further testing of the EPICC Matrix to determine its relevance in different cultural/professional contexts within and outside of Europe would be welcomed.

Exploring the Meaning of Spirituality and Spiritual Care in Chinese Contexts: A Scoping Review.

Spirituality is recognised as a fundamental aspect of health and nursing care. Yet, there are few studies exploring how this concept may be understood outside of Western culture. This scoping review seeks to address this omission by focusing specifically on research conducted with Chinese populations. This is important because people from Chinese backgrounds (PBC) are now residing all over the world, and their spirituality and spiritual needs should be considered when providing healthcare. Adopting a purely generalist understanding and application of spirituality may not capture the cultural difference that exists between the East and West. This scoping review adopted Arksey and O'Malley's method to focus on spirituality and spiritual care among PBC in health and nursing. The systematic strategy was adopted and used to search the main databases in health and nursing. Eighteen (n = 18) empirical studies were included in the review: 11 qualitative studies and seven quantitative involving 1870 participants. The scoping review revealed that in the Chinese understanding of spirituality is an abstract and personal concept which can refer to an internal vital force, experiences of suffering, and traditional Chinese cultural and religious values. As the multidimensional understanding of spirituality and spiritual care may cause confusion, these findings may provide a direction for the researchers emphasising the need for cultural and religious sensitivity when understanding of spirituality.

Educational interventions and strategies for spiritual care in nursing and healthcare students and staff: A scoping review.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To map existing evidence about educational interventions or strategies in nursing and allied healthcare concerning students' and staffs' spiritual care provision. BACKGROUND: Spiritual care is an important part of whole person care, but healthcare staff lack competence and awareness of spiritual issues in practice. To rectify this, it is important to identify what educational approaches are most helpful in supporting them to provide spiritual care. DESIGN: A scoping review using the PRISMA-ScR checklist. METHOD: Searches in the databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, ATLA and ERIC were conducted for papers spanning January 2009-May 2020. Search terms were related to spirituality, spiritual care, education and clinical teaching. Appraisal tools were used. RESULTS: From the 2128 potentially relevant papers, 36 were included. The studies were from 15 different countries and involved nurses, physicians and other health-related professions, and both quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods were used. The results are presented in three themes: Understanding of spirituality, Strategies in educational settings, and Strategies in practice settings. The review points to great diversity in the content, lengths and setting of the educational interventions or strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Courses in spiritual care should be implemented in curricula in both undergraduate and postgraduate education, and several studies suggest it should be mandatory. Courses should also be available for healthcare staff to raise awareness and to encourage the integration of spiritual care into their everyday practice. There is a need for greater consensus about how spirituality and spiritual care are described in healthcare settings. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Spiritual care must be included both in monodisciplinary and multidisciplinary educational settings. The main result of spiritual care courses is in building awareness of spiritual issues and self-awareness. To ensure the provision of spiritual care for patients in healthcare practices, continuing and multidisciplinary education is recommended.

Family members' experiences with the spiritual care of older people living with dementia in nursing homes: A phenomenological hermeneutical study.

AIM: To illuminate family members experiences with the spiritual care provided to their family members living with dementia in nursing homes. DESIGN: A qualitative research design utilizing phenomenological hermeneutical approach. METHODS: Data were gathered by conducting twelve in-depth interviews with family members of older people living with dementia in nursing homes and analysed using the phenomenological hermeneutical analysis. The COREQ guidance was used for reporting of this study. RESULTS: Finding revealed that family members were worried and fearful when nursing care was routinely provided with little consideration given to spiritual needs and lacking compassion. Findings affirm that "riendliness" is an essential aspect of respectful caring from the family members' perspective. Family members want compassionate, loving, caring and dignified nursing care for their relative living with dementia in the nursing homes.

The Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care Among People From Chinese Backgrounds Living in England: A Grounded Theory Method.

Introduction: There has been a growing number of people from Chinese backgrounds entering England and their perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care need to be addressed when their cultural context changes. Methodology: A Straussian grounded theory method was used. Twenty-five participants were recruited, after which point data saturation was reached. Results: Four themes emerged showing participants' perceptions of the terms: holistic; family involvement; religious care; abstract and sensitive. Discussion: Participants held holistic and culturally sensitive perspectives of spirituality, which demonstrates that patient-centered care is important. Also, health care professionals need to consider methods to involve family member and use religious or cultural values to support their spiritual needs. Particularly, when implementing spiritual care, they need to be aware that people from Chinese backgrounds blend Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism together in their understanding of the terms and may provide contradictory information about their religious belief.

The development of a consensus-based spiritual care education standard for undergraduate nursing and midwifery students: An educational mixed methods study.

AIMS: The aim of this study was to develop a consensus-based Spiritual Care Education Standard for undergraduate N/M students to use in undergraduate programmes. DESIGN: Mixed methods were used consisting of qualitative and quantitative methods based on the principles of Delphi research. METHODS: The sample consisted of a total of 58 (N = 58) participants from 21 European countries. Data collection was conducted from June 2017 - February 2019 and took place in facilitated iterative action learning cycles and online surveys. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis. Consensus was stated by >90% agreement. RESULTS: The process resulted in an EPICC Spiritual Care Education Standard consisting of the following four spiritual care competences: Intrapersonal spirituality, Interpersonal spirituality, Spiritual care: assessment and planning, Spiritual care: intervention and evaluation. For every competence, learning outcomes were described in knowledge, skills and attitudes. CONCLUSION: This Standard guides N/M spiritual care education, student assessment and research. It can be the starting point for discussing spiritual care competences in other healthcare professions. Follow-up research should focus on implementation of the standard and on assessment of students' spiritual competence. IMPACT: The Standard guides curriculum and programme development. The Standard guides students in performing their learning process. The Standard provides a frame of reference for policy making and follow-up research.

Development and validation of the Spirituality Instrument-27© (SpI-27©) in individuals with chronic illness.

AIM: To develop and validate the Spirituality Instrument 27 (SpI-27©) in individuals with chronic illness (n = 249). BACKGROUND: A need for a rigorously developed spirituality instrument that can be used with people who are religious and non-religious was identified. METHODS: The initial 46-item instrument was developed from a concept analysis, a review of theoretical and empirical literature, and an appraisal of instruments measuring spirituality. Content validity was established with user focus groups and an expert panel review. A pilot study evaluated the online mode of administration and a descriptive correlational design assessed the reliability and validity of the instrument. RESULTS: Results of exploratory factor analysis concluded a five-factor solution with 27 items: Connectedness with Others, Self-Transcendence, Self-Cognisance, Conservationism, and Connectedness with a Higher Power. Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.823 to 0.911 for the five factors, and 0.904 for the overall scale. Paired t-tests, intra-class correlations, and weighted kappa values supported the temporal stability of the instrument. A significant and positive correlation was found between the SpI-27© and the Spirituality Index of Well-Being (p < 0.01), supporting convergent validity. CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the validity and reliability of the SpI-27©, which was developed with patient input and is underpinned by theoretical and empirical literature. The SpI-27© should be validated for use with other samples. The conceptual framework that guided the study can be used to enhance healthcare professionals' understanding of spirituality and its core dimensions.

An understanding of spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds: A grounded theory study.

AIM: To investigate the meaning of spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds living in England. DESIGN: Strauss and Corbin's grounded theory design was used. METHOD: Twenty-five participants were recruited from Chinese community centres after which data saturation was reached in September 2016. In-depth interviews in Chinese were carried out. Transcribed digital recordings were translated into English. Data analysis followed the techniques of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding, using NVivo11. Data collection and analysis were conducted simultaneously. RESULTS: Three themes emerged from the data which provide an understanding of spirituality and spiritual care in the study context: 'essence and nature of life', 'driving forces', 'self-support'. CONCLUSION: This study provides an understanding of spirituality and spiritual care from a Chinese cultural perspective. From a Daoist tradition, spirituality is seen as essence and driving force in the human body. From a Confucian viewpoint, it appears that patients saw themselves or the 'self' as a supporting resource. IMPACT: The knowledge gained from this study has potential to support nurses and healthcare practitioners to identify the spiritual needs of people from Chinese backgrounds and to remove some of the Chinese misconceptions Chinese people hold about spiritual care by explaining what these concepts could mean. It could also improve cultural awareness for student nurses around what constitutes spiritual care. Further research is recommended among the wider community of health and social care workers to explore spirituality and spiritual care among people from Chinese backgrounds living in England.

Nursing and midwifery students' perceptions of spirituality, spiritual care, and spiritual care competency: A prospective, longitudinal, correlational European study.

BACKGROUND: Nurses and midwives care for people at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives, so it is essential that they have the skills to give care which is compassionate, dignified, holistic and person-centred. Holistic care includes spiritual care which is concerned with helping people whose beliefs, values and sense of meaning, purpose and connection is challenged by birth, illness or death. Spiritual care is expected of nurses/midwives but they feel least prepared for this part of their role. How nursing and midwifery students can be prepared for spiritual care is the focus of this study. OBJECTIVES: 1. To describe undergraduate nursing and midwifery student's perceptions of spirituality/spiritual care, their perceived competence in giving spiritual care and how these perceptions change over time. 2. To explore factors contributing to development of spiritual care competency. METHODS: Prospective, longitudinal, multinational, correlational survey design. A convenience sample of 2193 undergraduate nursing and midwifery students (69% response rate, dropping to 33%) enrolled at 21 universities in eight countries completed questionnaires capturing demographic data (purpose designed questionnaire) and measuring perception of spirituality/spiritual care (SSCRS), spiritual care competency (SCCS), spiritual wellbeing (JAREL) and spiritual attitude and involvement (SAIL) on 4 occasions (start of course n = 2193, year 2 n = 1182, year 3 n = 736, end of course n = 595) between 2011 and 2015. Data were analysed using descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses as appropriate. RESULTS: Perceived competency increased significantly over the course of students' study which they attributed to caring for patients, events in their own lives and teaching/discussion in university. Two factors were significantly correlated with perceived spiritual care competency: perception of spirituality/spiritual care, where a broad view was preferable, and personal spirituality, where high spiritual wellbeing (JAREL) and spiritual attitude and involvement (SAIL) scores were preferable. CONCLUSIONS: We have provided the first international evidence that perceived spiritual care competence is developed in undergraduate nursing and midwifery students and that students' perceptions of spirituality and personal spirituality contribute to that development. Implications for teaching and learning and student selection are discussed. The study is limited by attrition which is common in longitudinal research.

Spiritual care should be part of the Code.

We welcome the new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard, which calls for individualised care plans that address the 'cultural, religious or social preferences' of people in the last two to three days of life, as well as those of people important to them.

Factors contributing to student nurses'/midwives' perceived competency in spiritual care.

BACKGROUND: The spiritual part of life is important to health, well-being and quality of life. Spiritual care is expected of nurses/midwives, but it is not clear how students can achieve competency in spiritual care at point of registration as required by regulatory bodies. AIM: To explore factors contributing to undergraduate nurses'/midwives' perceived competency in giving spiritual care. DESIGN: A pilot cross-sectional, multinational, correlational survey design. METHOD: Questionnaires were completed by 86% (n=531) of a convenience sample of 618 undergraduate nurses/midwives from six universities in four countries in 2010. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. RESULTS: Differences between groups were small. Two factors were significantly related to perceived spiritual care competency: perception of spirituality/spiritual care and student's personal spirituality. Students reporting higher perceived competency viewed spirituality/spiritual care broadly, not just in religious terms. This association between perceived competency and perception of spirituality is a new finding not previously reported. Further results reinforce findings in the literature that own spirituality was a strong predictor of perceived ability to provide spiritual care, as students reporting higher perceived competency engaged in spiritual activities, were from secular universities and had previous healthcare experience. They were also religious, practised their faith/belief and scored highly on spiritual well-being and spiritual attitude/involvement. CONCLUSIONS: The challenge for nurse/midwifery educators is how they might enhance spiritual care competency in students who are not religious and how they might encourage students who hold a narrow view of spirituality/spiritual care to broaden their perspective to include the full range of spiritual concerns that patients/clients may encounter. Statistical models created predicted factors contributing to spiritual care competency to some extent but the picture is complex requiring further investigation involving a bigger and more diverse longitudinal sample.

Spirituality in pre-registration nurse education and practice: A review of the literature.

Spirituality is known to be an integral part of holistic care, yet research shows that it is not well valued or represented in nurse education and practice. However, the nursing profession continues to make efforts to redress the balance by issuing statements and guidance for the inclusion of spirituality by nurses in their practice. A systematic literature review was undertaken and confirms that nurses are aware of their lack of knowledge, understanding and skills in the area of spirituality and spiritual care, and desire to be better informed and skilled in this area. Consequently, in order for nurses to support the spiritual dimension of their role, nurse education has a vital part to play in raising spiritual awareness and facilitating competence and confidence in this domain. The literature review also reveals that studies involving pre-registration are few, but those available do provide examples of innovation and various teaching methods to deliver this topic in nursing curricular.

Student nurses perceptions of spirituality and competence in delivering spiritual care: a European pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Spiritual care is expected of nurses, but it is not clear how undergraduates can achieve competency in spiritual care at point of registration as required by nursing/midwifery regulatory bodies. AIMS: To describe undergraduate nurses'/midwives' perceptions of spirituality/spiritual care, their perceived competence in delivering spiritual care, and to test out the proposed method and suitability of measures for a larger multinational follow-on study. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, multinational, descriptive survey design. METHODS: Author administered questionnaires were completed by 86% of the intended convenience sample of 618 undergraduate nurses/midwives from 6 universities in 4 European countries in 2010. RESULTS: Students held a broad view of spirituality/spiritual care and considered themselves to be marginally more competent than not in spiritual care. They were predominantly Christian and reported high levels of spiritual wellbeing and spiritual attitude and involvement. The proposed method and measures were appropriate and are being used in a follow-on study. CONCLUSIONS: The following are worthy of further investigation: whether the pilot study findings hold in student samples from more diverse cultural backgrounds; whether students' perceptions of spirituality can be broadened to include the full range of spiritual needs patients may encounter and whether their competence can be enhanced by education to better equip them to deliver spiritual care; identification of factors contributing to acquisition of spiritual caring skills and spiritual care competency.

The qualitative findings from an online survey investigating nurses' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To provide an opportunity for members to express their understandings of spirituality and spiritual care. BACKGROUND: The role and place of spirituality within nursing have been contested by academics and wider society. One argument posited is supporting patients with their spiritual needs is not the responsibility of nurses. This is despite a clear professional requirement for nurses to achieve competence in the delivery of spiritual care. DESIGN: The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) conducted an online survey of its membership to ascertain their perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care identifying current practice. METHODS: This article presents the findings from the final part of the survey that asked respondents to use a free-text facility to add comments on the subjects of spirituality and spiritual care. RESULTS: Overall, 4054 RCN members responded, of these 2327 provided additional comments. These comments were analysed using keyword and content/thematic analysis. Five broad themes emerged: (1) theoretical and conceptual understanding of spirituality, (2) fundamental aspects of nursing, (3) notion of integration and integrated care, (4) education and professional development and (5) religious belief and professional practice. Findings suggest that nurses have diverse understandings of spirituality and the majority consider spirituality to be an integral and fundamental element of the nurses' role. CONCLUSION: Generally, nurses had a broad, inclusive understanding of spirituality considering this to be 'universal'. There was some uncertainty and fear surrounding the boundaries between personal belief and professional practice. Respondents advocated formal integration of spirituality within programmes of nurse education. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL NURSING: The concept of spirituality and the provision of spiritual care are now recognised as fundamental aspects of the nurse's role. There is a need for greater clarity between personal and professional boundaries to enable nurses to feel more confident and competent in delivering spiritual care.

Spiritual care in nursing: an overview of published international research.

AIMS: This paper provides an overview of 80 papers on research into spiritual care in nursing between 2006 and 2010, to enable nurses and nurse managers to make use of evidence available to them to improve quality of care and implement best practice. BACKGROUND: Research into spiritual care has grown rapidly since a review of the field in 2006. EVALUATION: The CINAHL database was used to search for 'spirituality' OR 'spiritual care' AND 'nursing, looking for original research papers involving health-care practitioners. KEY ISSUES: Research is discussed in the following themes: nursing education; care of health-care practitioners, including nurses; descriptive and correlational research; assessment tools used in research; palliative care and oncology; culture and spiritual care research. Future research should take into account the risks of research that does not involve patients and the need for research that is translatable into contexts other than the setting under study. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Spiritual care research has implications for staff training and education, staff motivation and health, organisational culture, best practice, quality of care and, most importantly, for the health of patients. Nurse managers, and indeed all involved in management of nursing, should use this growing body of evidence to inform their spiritual care training, planning and delivery.