Spiritual Experiences of Muslim Critical Care Nurses.

The purpose of this study was to determine the experiences and perceptions of intensive care nurses (ICNs) about spirituality and spiritual care, as well as the effective factors, and increase the sensitivity to the subject. In this study, we examined spiritual experiences, using McSherry et al. (Int J Nurs Stud 39:723-734, 2002) Spirituality and spiritual care rating scale (SSCRS), among 145 ICNs. 44.8% of the nurses stated that they received spiritual care training and 64.1% provided spiritual care to their patients. ICNs had a total score average of 57.62 ± 12.00 in SSCRS. As a consequence, it was determined that intensive care nurses participating in the study had insufficient knowledge about spirituality and spiritual care, but only the nurses with sufficient knowledge provided the spiritual care to their patients.

Effects of aromatherapy on sleep quality and anxiety of patients.

BACKGROUND: In intensive care units (ICUs), patients cannot sleep well. Aromatherapy is used for depression, anxiety, relaxation and disorders related with sleep and stress. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the effect of lavender essential oil on the sleep quality and anxiety level of patients in coronary ICU. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 60 patients in coronary ICU participated in this study. DESIGN: A randomized controlled study was conducted with 60 patients in a province located in the southeast of Turkey. METHODS: After informing the patients in both groups about the study, they were administered a questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scale. The patients in the intervention group were given 2% lavender essential oil via inhalation for 15 days after which they were administered the same scales again to evaluate the sleep quality and anxiety. As for the control group, they were administered the same scales again after 15 days without the inhalation of lavender essential oil. RESULTS: Comparison of the PSQI and BAI scores of the patients in the control and intervention groups before and after the intervention showed statistically significant differences in the change in favour of the intervention group (p < 0·05). CONCLUSION: Lavender essential oil increased quality of sleep and reduced level of anxiety in patients with coronary artery disease. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: As a non-invasive, cheap, easily applicable, cost-effective, independent nursing intervention and appropriate for cardiac patients, lavender essential oil could be applied in ICUs.

Nursing students' approaches toward euthanasia.

BACKGROUND: In Turkey, which is a secular, democratic nation with a majority Muslim population, euthanasia is illegal and regarded as murder. Nurses and students can be faced with ethical dilemmas and a lack of a legal basis, with a conflict of religious beliefs and social and cultural values concerning euthanasia. The aim of this study was to investigate undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia. METHOD: The study, which had a descriptive design, was conducted with 600 students. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year nursing students at a school of nursing were contacted in May 2009, and 383 students (63.8% of the study population of a total of 600 students) gave informed consent. Two tools were used in accordance with questionnaire preparation rules. RESULTS: The majority of students were female and single (96.9%), and their mean age was 21.3 ± 1.5 years. A majority (78.9%) stated they had received no training course/education on the concept of euthanasia. Nearly one-third (32.4%) of the students were against euthanasia; 14.3% of the students in the study agreed that if their relatives had an irreversible, lethal condition, passive euthanasia could be performed. In addition, 24.8% of the students agreed that if they themselves had an irreversible, lethal condition, passive euthanasia could be performed. Less than half (42.5%) of the students thought that discussions about euthanasia could be useful. There was a significant relation between the study year and being against euthanasia (p < 0.05), the idea that euthanasia could be abused (p < 0.05), and the idea that euthanasia was unethical (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the lack of legal regulations, ethical considerations, religious beliefs, and work experience with dying patients affect nursing students' attitudes towards euthanasia.