Spiritual beliefs among Israeli nurses and social workers: a comparison based on their involvement with the dying

The purpose of the study was to compare spiritual beliefs and practices between nurses and health care social workers based on their involvement with dying patients. Exposure to the dying was identified by two indicators: the percentage of terminally ill patients in the provider's care and the work environment. On the basis of the literature, differences were expected between the two types of professionals and the three degrees of involvement with the dying. Nurses were expected to have a higher spiritual perspective than social workers; and health care providers with high involvement in care for the dying were expected to hold the highest levels of spiritual beliefs. Contrary to expectations, no differences in spirituality were found between nurses and social workers; both groups exhibited medium levels of spirituality. Furthermore, health care providers who were highly involved with dying patients had the lowest spiritual perspectives. Tentative explanations of these unexpected results are presented and discussed.