Emergency nurses' provision of spiritual care: a literature review

The emergency setting has undergone significant changes in recent years. Notably, the throughput and acuity of patients has increased, with a concomitant improvement in the clinical and technical management of these patients (Dolan, 1998; Coughlan and Corry, 2007). However, there is evidence to suggest that the increase in workload and proliferation of technology, at such a fast pace, has potentially threatened the caring component of nursing, including spiritual care (Wilkin and Selvin, 2004). During hospitalization, the majority of patients tend to become anxious because of the fear of the unknown, an uncertain future, and possible resultant complications of their respective illnesses. In this regard, patients being treated in emergency departments are at vulnerable periods of their lives. Consequently, while the emergency department can be physically demanding, nurses spend considerable time in intense interactions with patients. In spite of this, changes have brought associated pressures on both nurses and patients (Bailie, 2005). Therefore, although advances in technology can enable nurses to objectively measure responses to care; conversely, it can supersede the premise of holistic health care. Nonetheless, it has been empirically shown that caring and the provision of spiritual care is not only possible within the technological world of emergency nursing, but it can be positively enhanced by the mastery of the technological environment (Locin, 1995; Little, 2000).