Relationship Between Geriatric Nurses' Spiritual Care Perceptions and Professional Attitudes, a Cross-Sectional Study

This study, based on the self-determination theory, aims to explore the current situation of geriatric nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and its relationship with their professional attitude. It was conducted from February to May 2022.

As the population ages, it is necessary to actively implement coping strategies. Geriatric nurses are important human resources, so we should pay attention to their perception of spiritual care for the elderly and their attitude towards the nursing profession.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted.

A total of 488 geriatric nurses engaged in elderly care were recruited from different hospitals in China. An online questionnaire was used to assess geriatric nurses' sociodemographics, their perception of spiritual care and their professional attitude.

This study's findings indicate that the overall average score of geriatric nurses' perception of spiritual care was at a medium level (173.64 ± 27.87). Geriatric nurses' professional attitude was positively correlated with spiritual care perception (p < 0.001). The multiple stepwise linear regression model (n = 488) had an explained variance (R² = 0.216), and three factors such as the need to enhance the ability of spiritual care through lectures and other methods were the main predictors of the perception level of spiritual care among geriatric nurses (p < 0.001).

The findings demonstrated that the enhancement of professional attitudes among geriatric nurses can effectively augment their perception and implementation of spiritual care.

This study's result is helpful for nursing managers to identify the weak links in the overall nursing services for elderly patients, thereby carrying out relevant intervention measures, improving the perception level of spiritual care of geriatric nurses, optimising the quality of elderly care services and achieving healthy aging.

No patient or public contribution. The study focused on the current situation of geriatric nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and its relationship with their professional attitude. Therefore, the involvement of patients or the public was not deemed necessary for achieving the specific research objectives.

The reporting of the study was guided by the STROBE checklist.