The differences in spiritual health between non-depressed and depressed nurses.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the differences in spiritual health between depressed and non-depressed nurses. BACKGROUND: Previous studies have revealed that spirituality can buffer emotional pressure and maintain health, even in cases of depression. Nurses may have a tendency to develop depression; however, the relationship between depression and spirituality in nurses has been investigated only rarely. DESIGN: A correlational study. METHODS: The study was conducted using a convenience sample of 283 nurses who worked at a local hospital in northern Taiwan. We used a structured, self-administered questionnaire to obtain the data. This questionnaire included a spiritual health scale, the Beck Depression Inventory and personal data. The quantitative data were analysed using the t-test, one-way analysis of variance and logistic regression. RESULTS: All the participants were women, and 22·6% of the participants were ascertained to have depression. The non-depressed group had a higher average score for the different domains of the spiritual health scale than the depressed group. When personal and job-related variables were controlled, spirituality was a significant explanatory variable for depression. CONCLUSIONS: The spiritual health of the non-depressed nurses was better than that of the depressed nurses. The result was consistent with the previous studies on other populations. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The spiritual health and depression of nurses should be paid attention by nursing administrators. Spiritual promoting programme in preventing depression should be examined in future researches.