Psychological mechanisms of prenatal mindfulness training on antenatal blood pressure reduction: A pilot study.

Spirituality in the context of nursing has been explored in recent decades (; ). However, it is apparent some confusion exists regarding the meaning of spirituality (; ; ; ) with nurses finding it difficult to interpret and action spirituality in practice (). Spirituality as a concept originates from a Latin word “spiritus,” which refers to breath, soul, character, or inspiration () and can be part of an individual's worldview and value system (). Various meanings have been ascribed to spirituality ranging from existential meanings such as purpose and meaning in life (; ) to religious perspectives (; ). Spirituality is also viewed as a well-being and quality-of-life concept which forms part of holistic care (). Holistic is the adjective of the theoretical concept of holism, which is based on the understanding the individual is a whole person consisting of an inseparable integration of body, mind, and spirit (; ). Some nursing authors have criticized definitions of spirituality used in nursing. They argue despite the fact nurses have written extensively about the positive characteristics of spirituality, there has been very little critique of how spirituality is defined in the nursing context (; ; ; ). proposes the deficiency of critique has led to spirituality being defined through broad, existential definitions which separate spirituality's relationship to religion or theology. Thus, the concept of spirituality is left open to be confused as only relating to psychosocial constructs (). The multitude of spirituality definitions has been blamed for making spirituality a relatively meaningless concept able to be covered in psychology or other aspects of nursing curricula (, ; ). The lack of concise definition of spirituality has possibly led to the lack of professional guidelines for nurses in ways to provide spiritual care () and nurses not knowing how to provide spiritual care (). In Australia, the RN Standards for Practice are used to guide the clinical practice of RNs. The purpose of these standards is to describe nursing practice for government regulation, employers, education providers, and consumers and is important to ensure quality care provision (). The current Australian RN Standards for Practice does not contain the word spirituality but contain the word “holistic.” With spirituality commonly recognized as forming part of holistic care, there is a need to consider spirituality in relation to the nursing standards for practice and how spirituality is understood by registered nurses (RNs) who are expected to provide holistic care in practice. It is unknown whether those involved in developing the currently used RN Standards for Practice's constructions of spirituality within holistic care align with those of the RNs using these standards. The aim of this paper is to report on a study which sought to find out whether the professional construction of spirituality resonates with the experience and understanding of RNs.