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

Considering the human being as a unit composed of body, mind and spirit, it is important that nurses evaluate the need for spiritual intervention. This study aims to describe the understanding of nurses about the meaning of spirituality and religiosity at a hospital. This is an exploratory and qualitative research that was carried out with 17 nurses. Data were collected through semistructured interview and analyzed using content analysis. Results show that nurses identify the particularities involved in the concepts of spirituality and religiosity and recognize the link between them. The applicability of these terms in nurses' clinical practice is directly influenced by their own spirituality and religiosity, by their academic training and their fear of negative repercussions resulting from the direct approach of these issues with patients.

Al considerar la integralidad del cuidado, es necesario que los enfermeros sistematicen el cuidado espiritual y propongan intervenciones en esta dimensión a sus pacientes. Objetivo: analizar la comprensión del enfermero acerca del cuidado espiritual y su experiencia en la promoción de este cuidado a los pacientes en la práctica clínica. Método: investigación descriptiva, con análisis cualitativo de los datos, desarrollada con 17 enfermeros. Se recolectaron los datos por medio de entrevistas semiestructuradas, analizadas mediante análisis de contenido cualitativo. Resultados: los enfermeros identificaron la necesidad de intervención en la dimensión espiritual de sus pacientes y consideraron importante atender a esta necesidad; sin embargo, ellos presentaron dificultades en brindar este cuidado. Falta de conocimiento y organización del proceso de trabajo fueron dificultades citadas para la no realización del cuidado espiritual y la priorización de los cuidados físicos. Se señala, aun, que el cuidado espiritual, cuando fue ofrecido, no fue sistematizado. Conclusión: esta investigación presenta potencial para despertar discusiones en cuanto a la formación del enfermero para el ofrecimiento del cuidado espiritual, además demuestra sus dificultades y facilidades para la ejecución de tal cuidado en la cotidianidad del trabajo de enfermería.