Journal of Holistic Nursing

Purpose: To develop a better understanding of how yoga practice affects one’s interpersonal relationships. Design: Qualitative. Method: Content analysis was used to qualitatively analyze written comments (n = 171) made regarding yoga improving interpersonal relationships in a large cross-sectional survey of yoga practitioners (N = 1,067). Findings: Four themes were identified: Yoga practice leads to personal transformation, increases social interaction, provides coping mechanisms to weather relationship losses and difficulties, and leads to spiritual transcendence. Practitioners believed that their interpersonal relationships improved because their attitude and perspective had changed, making them more patient, kind, mindful, and self-aware. They expressed an aspect of community that was both practical (they met new friends) and spiritual (they felt they belonged). They thought they could better weather difficulties such as divorce and death. A number discussed feeling a sense of purpose and that their practice contributed to a greater good. Conclusions: There appears to be an aspect of community associated with yoga practice that may be beneficial to one’s social and spiritual health. Yoga could be beneficial for populations at risk for social isolation, such as those who are elderly, bereaved, and depressed, as well as individuals undergoing interpersonal crises.

The arts have a history of relaxing and calming patients in the hospital setting, yet research is limited on how arts may aid in the healing process. DooR to DooR was established to bring comfort, respite, and healing to hospitalized patients, family members, and health care staff. DooR to DooR is located in the University of North Carolina Hospitals at Chapel Hill, North Carolina; professional performing artists visit there, spending 5 to 10 minutes with each patient, family member, and health care staff. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand performers’ experiences and of how arts-based programs can facilitate improved patient outcomes in the hospitalized setting to help nurses better use the arts in their care of patients and families. Three overarching themes were identified: (a) the arts are therapeutic for all involved, (b) the arts transforms the hospital environment, and (c) nurses and the other medical staff play an important role. The significance of this study for nursing practice is that the arts are a plausible intervention for the hospital because they may help improve patient outcomes by reducing pain and depression and by relieving stress among staff and family members. More research is needed to determine the level of arts-as-an-intervention knowledge among nurses.

Spirituality is often regarded as being helpful during an unwell person’s journey but definitions of the concept can be confusing, and its use synonymously with religion can be misleading. This research sought to answer the question, “What is the nature of spirituality in men with advanced prostate cancer,” and to discover the role spirituality may have in these men as they face the challenges of living with their disease. A qualitative approach and narrative method was used to explore the spirituality of nine men with advanced prostate cancer who volunteered to participate and to tell the story of their cancer journey with particular focus on their spirituality. The study found that spirituality for these men, who were all Caucasians, was a “holistic thing” that involved physical, psychosocial, and spiritual matters that enabled them to transcend the everyday difficulties of their journey. Through their spirituality they obtained greater comfort and peace of mind during what was for many of them a very traumatic time. The central theme in the men’s stories was that of connectedness—to themselves, to their partners, sometimes to a higher being, to other people such as their family and friends, and to other aspects of their lives.

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the perception of hospitalized cardiac patients in coronary care units (CCUs) in the Gaza Strip about the importance of assessing and providing spiritual care to them. Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Methods: A valid and reliable instrument previously developed by Musa was used to assess patients’ perception about the importance of assessing spiritual needs and providing spiritual care to cardiac patients admitted to CCUs. Findings: Out of 279 cardiac patients, 275 (response rate of 98.6%) agreed to be involved in this study. Results revealed that both assessing spiritual needs (69.69%) and providing spiritual care (76.97%) were very important to cardiac patients with rating spiritual care intervention as more important than spiritual assessment. Conclusions: Assessing and providing spiritual care is crucial to cardiac patients. Therefore, health policy makers need to pay more attention to this group of vulnerable patients and need to adopt a spiritual care policy into the Palestinian health care system, which might help to decrease their stress, length of hospitalization, and the cost of treatment.

This pilot project was an effort to record the historical roots, development, and legacy of holistic nursing through the visionary spirit of four older American Holistic Nurses Association (AHNA) members. The aim was twofold: (a) to capture the holistic nursing career experiences of elder AHNA members and (b) to begin to create a Legacy Building Model for Holistic Nursing. The narratives will help initiate an ongoing, systematic method for the collection of historical data and serve as a perpetual archive of knowledge and inspiration for present and future holistic nurses. An aesthetic inquiry approach was used to conduct in-depth interviews with four older AHNA members who have made significant contributions to holistic nursing. The narratives provide a rich description of their personal and professional evolution as holistic nurses. The narratives are presented in an aesthetic format of the art forms of snapshot, pastiche, and collage rather than traditional presentations of research findings. A synopsis of the narratives is a dialogue between the three authors and provides insight for how a Legacy Model can guide our future. Considerations for practice, education, and research are discussed based on the words of wisdom from the fours older holistic nurses.

The negative health consequences of caring for an older adult family member with dementia are well documented. However, not all family caregivers experience these negative health consequences. The purposes of this study were to describe strategies family caregivers use to help them continue to provide care for an older family member with dementia despite challenges and describe these family caregivers’ resilience and psychological distress. A mixed methods design was used with a narrative approach dominant and standardized scales for resilience and psychological distress used to enhance the description of the sample. Data were collected through telephone interviews with 18 family caregivers residing in an urban area. The findings indicate that family caregivers used four strategies to sustain the self: drawing on past life experiences, nourishing the self, relying on spirituality, and seeking information about dementia. Understanding strategies used by family caregivers to sustain themselves is essential for providing holistic nursing care and developing effective interventions.