Personal, self-selected goals are important determinants of behavior in work settings. The present study aimed to elicit palliative care nurses’ personal self-set goals of spiritual care and to test whether these goals were related to their spiritual care understanding.

Data were collected from a convenience sample of palliative care nurses who completed an anonymous, online survey asking qualitative data about how they understand spiritual care and their goals for spiritual care. We conducted content analysis on the goal data to create categories of goals and created sub-groups of nurses based on their understanding of spiritual care. We constructed a co-occurrence table showing the frequency with which goals and spiritual care understandings co-occur across nurses and used a goodness-of-fit test and visual inspection to assess the relationship between goals and understanding.

Four categories of goals emerged: patient well-being, patient’s family well-being, task performance, and self-oriented goals. There was no apparent relationship between goals and spiritual care understanding.

Palliative care nurses’ goals for spiritual care are characterized by greater variety than implied by prescriptive spiritual care models/guides that assume some type of patient well-being goal. That there was no relationship between goal and spiritual care understanding may be due to the goal-elicitation question evoking higher-order goals that are unrelated to specific spiritual care behaviors, which may be more influenced by lower-order goals.

Professional bereavement is a frequently overlooked yet significant experience among nurses, particularly in contexts involving serious illness and end-of-life care. Its impact on professional quality of life remains insufficiently understood. This study aimed to examine the relationship between professional bereavement and professional quality of life among nurses.

This descriptive correlational study was conducted with 176 nurses working in three hospitals in Ankara, Türkiye, between January and June 2022. Data were collected using the Professional Bereavement Scale and the Professional Quality of Life Scale. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were performed to examine relationships and predictive effects.

Nurses’ short-term reactions to professional bereavement were moderate, whereas cumulative effects were above average. Nurses with postgraduate education had significantly higher accumulated global change scores than those with a bachelor’s degree. Short-term bereavement reactions showed weak positive correlations with compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue, whereas cumulative changes showed moderate positive correlations with compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue. Regression analysis indicated that both short-term and cumulative dimensions of professional bereavement significantly predicted professional quality of life, with cumulative changes explaining 30–38% of the variance in compassion fatigue.

Professional bereavement is a significant predictor of nurses’ professional quality of life, highlighting the need for bereavement-focused support to promote psychological well-being and sustainable care. This study uniquely demonstrates differential effects of short-term versus cumulative professional bereavement on compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue and suggests that postgraduate education may paradoxically increase vulnerability to cumulative grief among nurses.

To explore the stress experienced by nurses while addressing the needs of families during palliative and end-of-life care for children and young adults.

A meta-synthesis was conducted. Six online databases (PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Airiti) from 2014 to September 15, 2025 were searched.

Of the 1,841 citations identified, 34 qualitative studies and 12 case reports were included. All included studies had adequate to strong methodological quality. Three themes emerged from the qualitative findings: (1) never seem to feel fully prepared; (2) sense of unfairness in conflicts of values; and (3) sheathing against traumatic bond attachment.

Nurses experience various stresses throughout the nursing process, which evoke avoidance responses. Supporting nurses is as crucial as providing family-centered palliative care to ensure a sustainable healthcare workforce. These findings demonstrate the importance of understanding how nurses perceive their stress in relation to provision of pediatric palliative care to help develop personal and team resilience.

There is a growing need to enhance healthcare providers’ spiritual care competence, including for people receiving palliative care. A preceding study of predictors of spiritual care competence in a general group of nurses found that more competent nurses rated significantly higher in spiritual training adequacy, frequency of spiritual care provision, and personal spirituality than other nurses; like the demographic variables of level of education, length of nursing experience, and sex, confidence and comfort in providing spiritual care were not related to spiritual care competence. The current study aimed to replicate these relationships in a sample of palliative care nurses. This sample also allowed the testing of a hypothesis that palliative care nurses will tend to subscribe to more competent understandings of spiritual care.

Data were collected from a convenience sample of Australian palliative care nurses who completed an anonymous, online survey. The survey provided qualitative data about what spiritual care means for them and quantitative data regarding nurse characteristics. The qualitative data were used to create sub-groups of nurses based on their understanding of spiritual care and the quantitative data were used to construct a profile of nurse characteristics for each sub-group. The replication analysis determined whether a statistical difference in nurse characteristics existed across sub-groups. The hypothesis testing compared levels of spiritual care understanding across the general and palliative care samples of nurses.

While the results of the palliative care sample are largely concordant with those obtained in the general sample, the current study amends “training adequacy” as a predictor of spiritual care competence to “experience (whether on-the-job or training) in caring for the dying.” The study hypothesis was supported.

The results can be used to assess and develop competence in spiritual care for palliative care nurses.

The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ experiences of competence development in home care.

Home care services are increasingly used to support clients’ coping at home. As the number of clients with multiple diseases is growing, continuous competence development is needed.

Qualitative cross-sectional study. Four registered nurses (RNs) and seven licenced practical nurses (LPNs) from one well-being services county in Finland participated in interviews. The data were analysed with thematic analysis.

Three themes were found in the analysis: having adequate competence to work as a nurse in home care, being a competent and developing licenced practical nurse, and being an improving and developing registered nurse. Competence development requires continuous training. Nurses need various practises to update their knowledge and skills. Managers have an important role in supporting, organizing, and timing competence development opportunities.

Holistic nursing care requires considering not only the physical and psychosocial but also the spiritual care needs of the patient.

This study aimed to determine the relationship between nurses’ perceptions of the concept of spiritual care and their attitudes towards death and the care of dying patients.

The sample of this descriptive and correlational study consisted of 383 nurses. Data were collected using the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS), the Spiritual Support Perception Scale (SSPS), the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD), and the Death Attitude Profile Scale (DAP-R). The predictive role of nurses’ perceptions of spiritual care on their attitudes toward caregiving for patients approaching death and dying was examined using path analysis. The results of the analysis were presented as descriptive statistics (mean ± SD), and frequency (percentage) distributions. The reliability of the scales and subscales was examined using the Cronbach’s alpha internal consistency coefficient.

The path coefficient between the SSCRS and the DAP-R subscales of Fear of Death (β = 0.232; P = 0.025), Death Avoidance (β = 0.301; P = 0.007), Neutral Acceptance (β = 0.22; P = 0.01), Approach Acceptance (β = 0.444; P < 0.001), and Escape Acceptance (β = 0.659; P < 0.001) was statistically significant. The path coefficient between the FATCOD and the DAP-R subscales of Fear of Death (β = −0.032; P < 0.001), Death Avoidance (β = −0.038; P < 0.001), and Neutral Acceptance (β = 0.02; P < 0.001) was statistically significant.

It was determined that there was a correlation between the nurses’ perceptions of the concept of spiritual care and their attitudes towards death and the care of dying patients. It can be suggested that the nurses exhibited a more positive attitude toward the care of dying patients as their understanding of spirituality, spiritual support, and spiritual care increased.

The aim of this study is to describe the rollout of nursing activities during the pilot project’s first 12 months (2019–2021), especially relating to what was initially planned in the nurses’ job description.

To provide more comprehensive services and reinforce primary care, a pilot implementation study assessed the integration of nursing activities into eight general practitioners’ (GPs’) practices. The study evaluated how new types of activities were integrated and rolled out over the first year.

A mixed-methods observational study collected quantitative data on nursing activities and duration and qualitative data via five interviews with nurses and patients and one focus group with six GPs. Investigators combined quantitative and qualitative data in discussions about their results.

New nursing activities were rolled out progressively, especially follow-up activities with chronically ill patients, with a median time dedicated/month of 21h58 (range: 9h25 to 64h50) at six months and 48h43 (range: 11h01 to 59h51) at 12 months. One-off clinical activities are more easily integrated: the median time dedicated/month was 40h01 (range: 13h44 to 74h53) at six months and 40h30 (range: 9h38 to 76h51) at 12 months. Three elements were crucial in the implementation of nursing activities. The nurse’s previous professional experience influenced the scope of activities developed. GPs’ willingness to refer patients to the nurses enabled the latter to carry out follow-up activities with care plan. Lastly, the implementation of nursing activities was also made possible by patients’ acceptance of being cared for by nurse instead of a GP.

Implementation of nursing activities increased progressively, although more slowly for activities with chronically ill patients and within care plans, principally due to the overall change faced by GPs and nurses.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and job-related stress among nurses working in both central and district areas of Adıyaman following the earthquake. Additionally, we assess potential risk factors influencing both PTSD and job-related stress.

This cross-sectional study involved 332 nurses. The study considered several independent variables, including age, gender, marital status, place of residence, experience of family loss due to the earthquake, and workplace location. The dependent variables for the study were identified as post-traumatic stress disorder and job stress.

Of the nurses surveyed, 69% showed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Notably, higher job stress scale scores were identified among women (P = 0.028), married individuals (P = 0.005), those with children (P < 0.001), those who were in Adıyaman during the earthquake (P < 0.001), and those who experienced family loss due to the earthquake (P < 0.001). Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was observed between PTSD scores and job stress scores (r = 0.599; P < 0.001).

Given the bidirectional impact of PTSD and job stress, prompt and comprehensive interventions are essential for safeguarding nurses’ mental health and professional capacity following major events. These interventions should also consider other risk factors, such as female gender or experiencing a family loss.

To evaluate the perception of disaster preparedness and response self-efficacy of nurses living and working in the region affected by the earthquakes in Turkey on February 6, 2023.

This cross-sectional, relationship-seeking research was conducted between March 10 and May 10, 2024 with 344 nurses in a hospital in the province of Kahramanmaraş, which was the epicentre of the February 2023 earthquake. A Personal Information Form, the Perception of Nurses of Disaster Preparedness Scale (PNDPS), and the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale (DRSES) were used in data collection. Pathway analysis and confirmatory factor analyis were used in the evaluation of the data.

Age, gender, educational level, disaster training, and having lost someone close in a disaster were determined to have a significant effect on the perception of disaster preparedness, and response self-efficacy (P < 0.05). The perception of the stage of preparation was determined to be 0.136-fold greater in those with a disaster preparation plan (P < 0.05). Perception of the post-disaster stage was determined to be 0.130-fold greaater in those with a disaster preparation plan (P < 0.05).

This study demonstrated that nurses working in the earthquake region had high levels of disaster preparedness perception and response self-efficacy.

The aim of this study was to develop the Nurse Competency Assessment Scale in Disaster Management (NCASDM) and to conduct psychometric evaluation.

It is a scale development study. Research data were collected between January and May 2023. In the sample of the study, as stated in the literature, it was aimed to reach at least 10 times the number of draft scale items (n = 600). The psychometric properties of the scale were tested with 697 nurses working in four different hospitals. A three-stage structure was used in the analysis of data: (1) creating the item pool, (2) preliminary evaluation of items, (3) refining of the scale and evaluation of psychometric properties. The content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, and temporal stability of the scale were evaluated according to the scale development guidelines.

The scale items were obtained from online, semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews conducted with nurses who experienced disasters or worked in disasters. The content validity index of the scale was found to be 0.95. According to the exploratory factor analysis, it was found that the scale consisted of 43 items and two subscales, and the subscales explained 79.094% of the total variance. The compliance indices obtained as a result of confirmatory factor analysis were acceptable and at good levels.

The NCASDM was found to be a psychometrically valid and reliable measurement tool. It can be used to evaluate the competency of nurses related to disaster management.

Previous studies have shown that nurses’ spiritual care competence is related to characteristics of personal spirituality, training adequacy, and comfort, confidence, and frequency of provision of spiritual care. However, these studies assumed that all participants understood spiritual care in the same way, and used self-ratings of spiritual care competence, which are problematic. Our previous study found that spiritual care was understood in 4 qualitatively different ways that can be arranged in order of competence. This study aimed to re-examine the relationships between nurse characteristics and spiritual care competence, using spiritual care understanding as a proxy for competence.

Data was collected from a convenience sample of nurses who completed an anonymous, online survey. The survey provided qualitative data about what spiritual care means for them. The survey also provided quantitative data regarding nurse characteristics. This study created sub-groups of nurses based on their understanding of spiritual care, and used the quantitative data to construct a profile of nurse characteristics for each sub-group. Kruskal–Wallis statistical tests determined whether nurse characteristics differed across the 4 sub-groups.

Spiritual care competence was not related to confidence or comfort in providing spiritual care. Relationships with spirituality, training adequacy, and frequency of provision of spiritual care were not linear; i.e., higher competence did not always correspond with higher scores of these characteristics.

The results raise concerns about the construct validity of using comfort and confidence as estimates of spiritual care competence. That the relationships between competence and spirituality, training adequacy, and frequency of spiritual care provision was not as linear as portrayed in extant literature, suggests that outcomes of training may depend on the type of spiritual care understanding subscribed to by training participants. The findings offer insights about how nurses could achieve high levels of spiritual care performance.

Care of the dying is an essential part of holistic cancer nursing. Improving nurses’ attitudes and behaviors regarding care of the dying is one of the critical factors in increasing the quality of nursing service. This study aims to examine the impact of an educational program based on the CARES tool on nurses’ attitudes and behaviors toward care of the dying.

A quasi-experimental study with pre- and post-intervention measures was conducted. A total of 222 oncology nurses from 14 hospitals in Beijing, China, were enrolled using a convenient sampling method. This online educational course developed based on the CARES framework comprised 7 modules and 10 sessions. Each session was carried out twice a week over 30–60 min. Data were collected using a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire, the Frommelt Attitude Towards Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD) and the Nurses’ Practice Behavior Toward Care of the Dying Questionnaire (NPBTCOD). Reassessment of attitudes and behaviors was conducted when completed the learning and 6 months after the learning, respectively. The sociodemographic characteristics of the nurses were analyzed using descriptive statistics, and differences in attitudes and behaviors were reported and compared by the paired t-test.

All the 222 oncology nurses completed educational courses, and 218 nurses (98.20%) completed the pre- and post-attitudes evaluation and 213 (95.9%) nurses completed the pre- and post-behaviors evaluation. The mean (SD) FATCOD score before and after the educational program was 108.83 (12.07) versus 115.09 (14.91), respectively (t = −8.546, p ≥ 0.001). The mean (SD) NPBTCOD score before and after the educational program was 69.14 (17.56) versus 73.40 (18.96), respectively (t = −3.231, p = 0.001).

This educational intervention was found to be an effective method for improving oncology nurses’ attitudes and behaviors toward caring for dying patients.

Neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) emerge as one of the areas where palliative care is most needed. This study was conducted to examine the attitudes and compassion fatigue levels of NICUs nurses working in Şanlıurfa, where the fertility rate and infant mortality are highest in Turkey, toward palliative care.

This study was conducted in descriptive type.

The research was carried out with 204 (85%) nurses who agreed to participate in the research between October 2022 and February 2023, out of 240 neonatal intensive care nurses working in the NICU of 2 training and research hospitals and a university hospital in Şanlıurfa. The data of the study were collected using an Introductory Information Form, the Neonatal Palliative Care Attitude Scale, and the Compassion Fatigue Short Scale.

Nurses; compassion fatigue scale mean score was 61.46 ± 26.64, palliative care scale mean score was 3.13 ± 0.74 for organization subdimension, 2.85 ± 0.73 for resources subdimension, and 3.08 ± 0.89 for clinician subdimension. In the results of the study, 8 barriers (parents do not participate in decisions, there is not enough staff, lack of time to spend with the family, lack of policies/rules in institutions for palliative care, lack of education and communication, society’s beliefs, nurses’ personal attitudes toward death, and lack of appreciation of past experiences with palliative care) and 6 facilitators (Nurses’ ability to express their perceptions, views and beliefs about palliative care, to participate and support palliative care, to inform parents, to provide counseling, adequate physical conditions) for palliative care were determined.

While it was determined that nurses had a slightly below moderate level of compassion fatigue and a close attitude toward organization and resources toward palliative care, it was determined that ethical conflict toward palliative care was high in clinical subdimension scores.

It is recommended that all nurses working in the NICU obtain certificates, improvements in resources such as personnel and equipment, improvements in the shift work system and development of policies/rules in institutions for palliative care.

The research aimed to test the job demands-resources (JD-R) model on a sample of Italian oncology workers, and the role of perceived organizational support (POS) as a moderator of the effects of JD on outcomes (job satisfaction and burnout [BO]).

Based on the JD-R model, a correlational study was designed to investigate the relationships between JD, POS as a job resource, self-esteem (as a personal resource), and job outcomes (BO and job satisfaction); the research involved a sample of oncology nurses (N = 235) from an Italian public hospital, who completed a questionnaire during working hours. Relationships between variables were investigated with multiple regressions and moderation analysis.

Results confirmed that JD predict both BO and job satisfaction; POS is a weak predictor of job outcomes, but its mediator role in the JD-outcomes relationship was confirmed: the more the nurses perceive a supportive organization, the weaker the positive relationship between JD and BO.

Findings are consistent with other contributions that highlighted that organizational job resources may attenuate the adverse effect of JD on positive and negative outcomes: POS may play a central role in employee well-being and health, acting as a possible moderator, and somehow defusing the positive association between JD and outcomes.

Chinese nurses working with immense stress may have issues with burnout during COVID-19 regular prevention and control. There were a few studies investigating status of burnout and associated factors among Chinese nurses. However, the relationships remained unclear.

To investigate status and associated factors of nurses’ burnout during COVID-19 regular prevention and control.

784 nurses completed questionnaires including demographics, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Insomnia Severity Index, Impact of Event Scale-revised, Perceived Social Support Scale, Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, General Self-efficacy Scale and Maslach Burnout Inventory.

310 (39.5%), 393 (50.1%) and 576 (73.5%) of respondents were at high risk of emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP) and reduced personal accomplishment (PA). The risk of EE, DP and reduced PA were moderate, high and high. Nurses with intermediate and senior professional rank and title and worked >40 h every week had lower scores in EE. Those worked in low-risk department reported lower scores in PA. Anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), self-efficacy and social support were influencing factors of EE and DP, while social support and resilience were associated factors of PA.

Chinese nurses’ burnout during COVID-19 regular prevention and control was serious. Professional rank and title, working unit, weekly working hours, anxiety, PTSD, self-efficacy, social support and resilience were associated factors of burnout.

The study aimed to determine the level of knowledge and perceptions of preparedness for disasters among nurses working in a tertiary university hospital.

The population of this cross-sectional study consisted of nurses working in a university hospital in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey (n = 340). The sample included 183 nurses who were determined using the OpenEpi program and the universal sampling method. The data were collected using the Sociodemographic Information Form and the Disaster Preparedness Perception Scale in Nurses (DPPSN) and analyzed using SPSS 22 software.

The mean age of the participants was 34.31 + 8.52 years; 83.1% were female, 66.1% had at least a bachelor’s degree and worked in a surgical ward, 49.7% had been working for at least 11 years, and 58.5% had received training on disasters. Those who received disaster-related training received it mostly face to face (70.1%) from their institutions (91.6%) and in the form of 2–4 hours of training (75.7%); 52.5% had previously participated in a disaster-related drill, and 83.1% took on the role of caregiver during a disaster. The DPPSN mean score of the nurses involved in the study was found to be 3.53 ± 0.58 out of 5 points for the total scale.

The results of the study showed that nurses considered themselves partially adequate for disaster preparedness, in general.

Despite there being many models for how spiritual care should be provided, the way nurses actually provide spiritual care often differs from these models. Based on the premise that the way a person enacts their work role is related to how they understand that role, this study aims to describe the qualitatively different ways that nurses understand their spiritual care role.

A convenience sample of 66 American nurses completed an anonymous, online questionnaire about what spiritual care means for them and what they generally do to provide spiritual care. Their responses were analyzed phenomenographically.

Four qualitatively different ways of understanding emerged: active management of the patient’s experience, responsive facilitation of patient’s wishes, accompaniment on the patient’s dying journey, and empowering co-action with the patient. Each understanding was found to demonstrate a specific combination of 5 attributes that described the spiritual care role: nurse directivity, the cues used for spiritual assessment, and the nurse’s perception of intimacy, the patient, and the task.

The findings of this study may explain why nurses vary in their spiritual care role and can be used to assess and develop competence in spiritual care.

Clinical research provides evidence to underpin and inform advancements in the quality of care, services and treatments. Primary care research enables the general patient population access and opportunities to engage in research studies. Nurses play an integral role in supporting the delivery of primary care research, but there is limited understanding of nurses’ experiences of this role and how they can be supported to facilitate the delivery of research.

To explore the experiences of nurses delivering research studies in primary care settings.

We identified studies published between 2002 and June 2021 from key electronic databases. A two-level inclusion/exclusion and arbitration process was conducted based on study selection criteria. Data extraction and quality appraisal were performed simultaneously. Data were analysed in the form of a narrative synthesis.

The key themes identified included: (1) what nurses value about primary care research and their motivations for study engagement, (2) the role of nurses in research, (3) working with research teams, (4) study training, (5) eligibility screening, data collection and study documentation, (6) nurse/participant dynamic, (7) gatekeeping, (8) relationships with colleagues and impact on recruitment, (9) time constraints and workload demands, and (10) health and safety.

Nurses are integral to the delivery of research studies in primary care settings. The review highlights the importance of good communication by study teams, timely and study-specific training, and support from colleagues to enable nurses to effectively deliver research in primary care.