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Biomedical subjects

Elizabeth Johnston Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to Elizabeth Johnston Taylor.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Prevalence and associated factors of spiritual needs among patients with cancer and family caregivers.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To measure the prevalence of spiritual needs and identify factors associated with spiritual needs among patients with cancer and family caregivers. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative. SETTING: Inpatients and outpatients at a university medical center in the southwestern United States. SAMPLE: 156 patients with cancer and 68 family caregivers who were primarily white and Christian and mostly perceived their cancer as not life threatening. METHODS: Self-report questionnaires, including the Spiritual Interests Related to Illness Tool and Information About You. Statistical analysis involved analyses of variance, correlations, and factor analysis. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Spiritual needs and desire for nursing help with spiritual needs. FINDINGS: The most important spiritual needs included being positive, loving others, finding meaning, and relating to God. The least important were needing to ask "why" questions and preparing for dying. Desire for nursing assistance with spiritual needs was moderate and varied. Variables correlated with spiritual needs and desire for nurse help included religiosity, being an inpatient, and perceiving the cancer as incurable. Desire for nurse help and importance of spiritual needs were directly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: Distressing spiritual needs were reported least frequently. Certain factors appear to be associated with how much spiritual need is perceived and how much nurse help with those needs is wanted. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Patients with cancer and family caregivers have similar spiritual needs that may require care. Spiritual assessment and therapeutics can target specific types of spiritual needs. A nurse's help with spiritual needs, however, is not always wanted.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Spiritual complementary therapies in cancer care.

OBJECTIVES: To review literature documenting the frequency of use and efficacy of spiritual complementary therapies. Implications for clinical practice and research that reflect this literature are offered. DATA SOURCES: Data based research on complementary therapy usage and clinical articles about selected mind/body therapies. CONCLUSION: Spiritual complementary therapies are among the most frequently used. Prayer, spiritual healing, and meditation are the most frequently used spiritual therapies. Equivocal evidence supports their efficacy. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Although spiritual practices may not be considered a "therapy," clinicians should assess and support these practices. Clinicians should only pray with patients when observing ethical guidelines.

Complementary Therapies↗
PubMed2005

Spiritual care nursing: what cancer patients and family caregivers want.

AIM: This paper presents findings from a study that was designed to understand, from the perspective of cancer patients and their family caregivers, what spiritual care is wanted from nurses. BACKGROUND: Distressing and transformative spiritual responses to living with cancer have been documented. Although there is momentum for providing spiritual care, previous research provides scanty and conflicting evidence about what are the clients' wishes or preferences with regard to receiving spiritual care from nurses. METHODS: A convenience sample of 156 adult cancer patients and 68 primary family caregivers, most of whom were Christians, independently completed the Spiritual Interests Related to Illness Scale and a demographic form, both of which were self-completed questionnaires. RESULTS: A variation in responses to items about nurses providing spiritual care therapeutics was observed; means and medians for these items mostly fell between 2 (disagree) and 3 (agree) on a scale of 1-4. Generally, therapeutics that were less intimate, commonly used, and not overtly religious were most welcomed. No significant differences were found between patient and caregiver preferences. A modest, direct correlation was observed between frequency of attendance at religious services and increased preference for nurse spiritual care. CONCLUSION: For both patients and caregivers, nurses must be sensitive to providing spiritual nurture in ways that are welcomed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Spiritual needs of patients with cancer and family caregivers.

The purpose of this descriptive, cross-sectional, qualitative study was to describe the spiritual needs experienced in living with cancer from the perspective of patients with cancer and family caregivers. The sample included 28 African American and Euro-American patients with cancer and family caregivers receiving care from inpatient and outpatient units at two metropolitan hospitals in the southwestern United States. In-depth, tape-recorded, semistructured interviews were analyzed using the process of data reduction, data display, and verification. Seven categories of identified spiritual needs included needs associated with relating to an Ultimate Other; the need for positivity, hope, and gratitude; the need to give and receive love; the need to review beliefs, the need to have meaning; and needs related to religiosity and preparation for death. Informants responded with varying levels of awareness of personal spiritual needs. Caregivers were observed to have spiritual needs similar to those of patients. The findings of this study will inform nurses as they assess and document spiritual needs.

Black or African American↗
PubMed2002

Use of prayer among persons with cancer.

This study explored how persons use prayer to cope with cancer. Employing phenomenologic methods, 30 informants were interviewed in depth about why, when, and how they prayed, as well as what they prayed for and the outcomes expected. Findings detail how patients use prayer to ease the physical, emotional, and spiritual distresses of illness. A range of approaches to prayer and topics for prayer was observed, often determined by illness circumstances. The article provides a discussion that begins to suggest how these data can inform clinical practice and future research.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prayer's clinical issues and implications.

Because prayer frequently sustains coping and brings comfort, it is an important resource for nurses to support or offer. How shall nurses incorporate prayer in nursing practice? This article explores practical aspects of including prayer in bedside nursing care, including suggestions for assessment, supporting patients when beliefs about prayer challenge, discussing prayer with clients for whom prayer may be harmful, overcoming nursing barriers to prayer, and more.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nurses caring for the spirit: patients with cancer and family caregiver expectations.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine what patients with cancer and primary family caregivers expect from nurses with regard to having their spiritual needs addressed. RESEARCH APPROACH: Descriptive, cross-sectional, qualitative study using Miles and Huberman s approach to data reduction. SETTING: Outpatient and inpatient settings in a county hospital and a comprehensive cancer center, both located in a large, southwestern, metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS: 28 African American and Euro-American adult patients with cancer and primary family caregivers were purposively selected to provide variation of experiences (e.g., religious backgrounds). METHODOLOGIC APPROACH: In-depth, semistructured, tape-recorded interviews conducted by the investigator. Analysis of transcribed interviews concurrently with data collection followed a process of data concentration, data display, and conclusion drawing. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Spiritual needs, spiritual care. FINDINGS: Informants identified nursing approaches for spiritual needs, including kindness and respect; talking and listening; prayer; connecting with symmetry, authenticity, and physical presence; quality temporal nursing care; and mobilizing religious or spiritual resources. To provide spiritual care, nurses must possess requisites of a personal, relational, or professional nature. CONCLUSIONS: Although some patients or caregivers do not want overt forms of spiritual care, others are eager for them. Many recognize nonreligious actions or attitudes that nurses can practice to care for spiritual needs. INTERPRETATION: Nurses must consider how they can address patient preconceptions and requisites for spiritual caregiving. Nurses may need to educate the public regarding their role as holistic and spiritual healthcare providers.

Adolescent↗