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Culture and spirituality play a key role in everyone's daily lives, which leads to important factors when making healthcare decisions. With an increase in diverse patient populations, nurses need to be mindful of different spiritual and cultural aspects to provide competent nursing care. These competencies can enhance patient outcomes, reduce health disparities, and respect patients' beliefs (Kaiyue et al., 2025).

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Being able to express your life purpose and meaning through connection (Yoost & Crawford, 2022)

May be with or without a religious organization

Spirit - a unique human quality allowing us to search for meaning and purpose in our lives

Defined differently in various beliefs

Some see it as a person's brain, a phenomenon of a connection to a higher power, or God

Requires faith and hope

Faith - believing in something without scientific evidence or proof

Hope - optimistic viewpoint when facing difficult situations

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Religion is when a person expresses their spirituality through an organization with similar beliefs (Yoost & Crawford, 2022)

May involve different rituals and rites within the community, using a guide, such as the Bible

Some traditions may contradict medical treatment, such as Jehovah's Witnesses refusing blood transfusions for themselves and family members

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Large and diverse practices intertwined with mostly spiritual aspects of life (Yoost & Crawford, 2022)

These may include their beliefs, values, languages, material objects, and communication.

All aspects are shared within a large group to define them collectively.

Culture is symbolic, learned, shared, and integrated into the group's lives

Most culture is taught starting at birth, which can be taught directly or indirectly

Influences medical decisions dramatically due to unconscious actions and thoughts derived from the culture.

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Culture shapes health beliefs, treatment preferences, and how symptoms are expressed within an illness.

Communication is a critical factor in providing positive patient outcomes.

Language barriers impact effective communication

Interpreters are a necessity for proper communication

Family dynamics vary within cultures

Medical decisions may be left for the father or the head of household to make.

Dietary needs may be different, and some cultures have restrictions

Jewish cultures cannot eat pork and have a Kosher diet

Certain cultures have specific prayer times that they abide by.

Islamic cultures pray 5 times a day at certain times.

(Kaiyue et al., 2025; Nazari et al., 2025)

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GIVE THE PATIENT HOPE AND FAITH

Practicing holistic patient care can help the patient find purpose and meaning during a difficult time.

Encouraging hope through familial or friendly support, self-reflection, and spiritual practices can improve the patient's outlook on their situation.

Spirituality offers emotional resilience, coping mechanisms, and hope for patients facing illnesses

Studies showed that having a structured Nursing Spiritual Care Module improved nursing competency for spiritual health.

Competency was influenced by personal beliefs, professional values, and prior education and training.

(Abusafia, 2024; Kaiyue et al., 2025)

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Abusafia, A.H., Khraisat, A.M.S., Tableb, O.K., Al-Mugheed, K., Alabdullah, A.A., Abdelaliem, S.M.F. (2024). The impact of a nursing spiritual care module on nursing competence: an experimental design. BMC Palliat Care 23, 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01356-z

Kaiyue, W., Xinsheng, W., Linbo, S., Jiayi, F. and Changping, S. (2025), Nurse competency in providing spiritual care and associated influencing factors: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Nurse Open, 12: e70192. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.70192

Nazari, A. M., Mousavizadeh, S. N., Khoramabadi, Z. K., Yousofvand, V., & Dozein, S. M. G. (2025). Cultural competence, professional values, and spiritual well-being in nursing interns: a descriptive cross-sectional study. BMC nursing, 24(1), 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02670-w

Yoost, B. L., & Crawford, L. R. (2022). Fundamentals of nursing: Active learning for collaborative practice (3rd ed.). Elsevier.