Nurses' perceived spiritual climate of a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

AIM: This study investigated the spiritual climate of a hospital in Saudi Arabia as perceived by nurses.

BACKGROUND: A spiritually conducive environment improves patient, nurse and organizational outcomes. Despite being important, no studies have investigated this area in the Muslim-dominated Middle Eastern countries.

INTRODUCTION: A snapshot on the degree of spiritual climate perception may provide insight into the aspects that may need improvement and may become basis for the creation of health and nursing policies directed towards creating a spiritually-accepting and respecting clinical workplace.

METHOD: A sample of 219 nurses employed in a 500-bed capacity hospital in Saudi Arabia was included in this cross-sectional study utilizing the spiritual climate scale.

RESULTS: The nurses perceived their hospital's spiritual climate to be fair. The item 'I am encouraged to express spirituality in this clinical area' received the lowest mean, whereas the item 'My spiritual views are respected in this clinical area' received the highest mean. Being Saudi, having less total experience as a nurse, and having greater total experience as a nurse in Saudi Arabia and in the present hospital positively influenced the perception of the spiritual climate among nurses.

CONCLUSION: The findings stress the need to improve the spiritual climate in the hospital.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND NURSING POLICY: Hospitals are recommended to create policies to implement interventions geared towards creating a spiritually-friendly environment. Hospitals are encouraged to create a safe place where nurses can freely express their spirituality regardless of preference or religious denomination. Spiritual education may be provided by hospitals as part of continuing education. Managers may also focus on the existential spirituality of nurses, especially for spiritually-sensitive environments such as Saudi Arabia.