Nursing students and nurses attitude toward spirituality and spiritual care

Spiritual health is a component of human health. Despite of its importance in recent years the concept of spirituality and spiritual care in nursing as a nurses duties, there are few studies in this field especially in our country Iran. Aim: This study was aimed to investigate nurses and nursing students’ viewpoints about spirituality and spiritual care of patients.
This cross-sectional study conducted in hospitals affiliated with the Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences. Sampling performed for students by census and for nurses by two-stage sampling. Study instrument was Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale- SSCRS. Data was analyzed by SPSS software ver.16.
The mean total score of attitude towards spirituality and spiritual care in nursing students participating in the study was 54.57±1.74 and 52.44±0.88 in nurses. The mean score differences in nurses and students were not statistically significant and by demographic characteristics.
Participant's attitude toward spirituality and spiritual care was desirable and this could be considered as an asset for health managers. Further studies about factors affected their attitude were offered.