A qualitative study of nurses' attitudes towards' and accommodations of patients' expressions of religiosity and faith in dementia care

Abstract

Aims: To investigate nurses’ attitudes towards and accommodations of patients’ expressions of religiosity and faith in dementia care. Background: Holistic care for people with dementia addresses patients' religiosity and faith. Nurses’ accommodations of patients' religiosity have not been studied extensively even though nurses report a lack of experience and knowledge regarding religious care. Design: This study has a qualitative research design. Methods: Eight focus group interviews with 16 nurses and 15 care workers in four Norwegian nursing homes were conducted from June 2011 – January 2012. The interview text was analysed using van Manen’s hermeneutic-phenomenological approach and Lindseth and Nordberg’s structural analysis. Findings: The following three main themes reflected the nurses’ and care workers’ attitudes towards and accommodations of patients’ expressions of religiosity and faith: i) embarrassment vs. comfort, described in the sub-themes “feelings of embarrassment” and “religiosity as a private matter”; ii) unknown religious practice vs. known religious practice, described as “religious practice that was scary” or “religious practice that was recognisable”; and iii) death vs. life, described as “difficulty talking about death ” or “focusing on life and the quality of life”. Conclusion: Nurses and care workers were uncertain and lacked knowledge of the patients’ expressions of religiosity and faith in terms of both their substance and their function. Nurses struggled with ambivalent feelings about patients’ religious expressions and with unclear understanding of the significance of religiosity. These challenges compromised person-centred and holistic care on several occasions.