Attitudes to Spiritual Care Among Nursing Staff in an Oncology Clinic in 2003 and 2023: A Longitudinal Quantitative Case Study

Abstract

Aim(s) To explore the attitudes to spiritual care among nursing staff at one Swedish oncology clinic, with special focus on determinants of such attitudes and their stability over time. Design The design of the study is a quantitative, longitudinal and comparative design. Methods A questionnaire‐based replication study conducted in 2003 and 2023, using statistical methods. Suggested influencing factors to spiritual care and indicators for attitudes to spiritual care were identified in studies prior to the 2003 study. Results The staff expresses positive attitudes to spiritual care in both studies. More nursing staff considered patients’ spiritual needs a concern in 2023. There were no big differences in self‐estimated frequencies of how much the colleagues provide spiritual care, the self‐estimated ability to provide spiritual care, or the self‐estimated frequency to provide spiritual care. Education in spiritual care was considered important in both studies, but the received education in spiritual care was perceived as decreased in 2023. Several of the influencing factors of 2003 have lost their relevance in 2023 but ‘nonorganized religiousness’ and ‘belief in God’ are remaining stable factors over time. The factor ‘organized religiousness’ significantly correlates with the indicator ‘self‐estimated ability to provide spiritual care’ in 2003, whereas ‘nonorganized religiousness’ significantly correlates with the same indicator in 2023. Conclusions The results indicates that what might influence attitudes to spiritual care changes over time and can depend on societal changes.