Maternal Healthcare Provider Perspectives on Spiritual Care and the Challenges and Opportunities for Provider Spiritual Well-Being in the United States
Spiritual well-being is essential to overall well-being for healthcare providers. Furthermore, providing spiritual care depends on providers' spiritual well-being and competence in assessing patients' spiritual care needs. Including spiritual care in maternal healthcare represents an opportunity to improve the quality of patient care. We conducted interviews with 20 maternal healthcare providers to understand how to address spiritual care implementation goals. Through thematic analysis, the following themes were identified: defining spirituality, the interplay of provider spirituality and spiritual care, and the barriers and facilitators to support provider well-being. Opportunities to support provider well-being, an essential piece of developing spiritual care programs, are discussed.
Authors
- Larry F. Forthun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1232-2413)
- S. Grunwald
- Michelle Abraczinskas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1069-9575)
- Sarah McKune
- LaToya J. O’Neal
- Tyler S. Nesbit
- Karen A. A. R. Coker
Institutions
- University of Minnesota (US)
- University of Florida (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Religion and Health
- Published
- 2026-01-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02515-z
- Primary Topic
- Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of Florida
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences