Developing a Spiritual Care Model for Clinical Nurses: A Theory Synthesis

This study was carried out to develop a spiritual care model for clinical nurses. This study has used a 3-step strategy proposed by L. O. Walker and K. C. Avant (2019) for theory synthesis. In the second phase of this study, an integrative review was conducted to retrieve and select relevant articles. A total of 227 documents were included for theory construction. After identifying and defining the basic assumptions of the model, the concept of spiritual care was defined as a paradigmatic concept with a holistic approach. Then the metaparadigmatic concepts (ie, human being, environment, nursing, and health) were defined according to the holistic approach. After defining the model care goals, clinical strategies and interventions were defined according to the goals and the concept of health as an outcome of spiritual care. Nurses' clinical roles were conceptualized within the conceptual framework that includes 3 main steps of nursing process: (1) assessment and identification of the client to explore the spiritual perspective; (2) planning and implementing spiritual care; (3) documenting and evaluating spiritual care. This model can tell clinicians what to do in caring for patients, especially chronic and end-stage patients. Therefore, this model could help provide better care for all clients.