Physical aspects of disease management are often more evident than those related to\nspirituality or spiritual care. Spirituality may appear more crucial in pediatric intensive care units\n(PICUs) when patients are experiencing serious illness or end-of-life situations. This paper describes\nthe meaning of spirituality according to nurses who had worked in PICUs and how they provide\nspiritual care to children and their families. It is an exploratory research using a qualitative approach,\nincluding interviews with eleven PICU nurses. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis; two\nthemes were identified: meanings of spirituality and religiosity according to nurses, and the provision\nof spiritual care to children in the PICU and their families. The interviewed nurses recognized the\nimportance and value of spiritual care and are aware that spiritual needs are considered to be of\nsignificantly less importance than physical treatments. Spiritual care was mainly focused on the\nchildren�s families; the nurses justified the absence of spiritual care to children, based on lack of time\nand children�s age and level of consciousness. These results highlight a deficiency in spiritual care in\nPICUs and demonstrate the need for improved knowledge and demonstrate the need to not only\nraise awareness of the spiritual dimension of children, adolescents, and their families, but also to\nenhance discussion and improve general knowledge on the importance of spirituality in the treatment\nregimen to provide effective holistic care.
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