Objective: To characterize spiritual beliefs and support provided by maternal-child staff at three academic hospitals.
Background: Parents in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) believe that addressing spirituality is important. The spiritual beliefs and the support provided by NICU staff are currently unknown.
Methods: This prospective study surveyed all maternal-child staff (NICU and Obstetrics): physicians, neonatal nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, respiratory therapists, and social workers. Two validated tools were used: Spiritual Involvement and Beliefs Scale (SIBS) and Spiritual Care Inventory (SCI); SIBS assesses spiritual beliefs and practices, SCI assesses the perception of spiritual care that one provides. Demographic information, including self-identified religious affiliation, was collected.
Results: Respondents of 406 completed surveys were mostly nurses, female, white, and Christian. SIBS scores ranged between 21 and 136. Higher SIBS score was associated with Christian religion (p = 0.001) and African American (p = 0.003) and Asian (p = 0.017) race, when controlling for site, age, gender, education, role in the NICU, and years in practice. A high SCI score was also associated with Christian religion (p = 0.01). There was a trend toward an association between SCI and older age (p = 0.051). There was an association between a high SIBS score and higher ratings on both SCI subscales used.
Discussion: There is a wide range in spirituality and perceived spiritual support among maternal-child staff. This may coincide with the spiritual needs of families in the NICU.
Keywords: NICU; caregiver; neonatology; spirituality.