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. 2025 Apr;64(2):732-753.
doi: 10.1007/s10943-025-02278-7. Epub 2025 Feb 21.

'Nurses as Gatekeepers': Nurses' Responses to Spiritual Needs of Patients with Primary Malignant Brain Tumors in Austria-Analysis of a Qualitative Vignette Study

Reinhard Grabenweger  1 , Daniela Völz  2 , Elisabeth Bumes  2 , Megan Best  3 , Piret Paal  4   5
Affiliations

'Nurses as Gatekeepers': Nurses' Responses to Spiritual Needs of Patients with Primary Malignant Brain Tumors in Austria-Analysis of a Qualitative Vignette Study

Reinhard Grabenweger et al. J Relig Health. 2025 Apr.

Abstract

This paper investigates the nurses' gatekeeping role for spiritual care in multi-disciplinary teams as a way of responding to the spiritual needs of patients with brain tumors in Austria. Using a validated vignette in an online survey, qualitative data from 56 neurosurgical nurses (30.4% response rate) were analyzed via reflexive thematic analysis. One key theme, Nurses as Gatekeepers - Referral and Working with other Health Care Professionals, highlights nurses' critical role in spiritual care. Effective referrals depend on nurses' awareness of spiritual care specialists' roles, emphasizing their importance in ensuring comprehensive, team-based care for neuro-oncological patients with complex spiritual needs.

Keywords: Brain cancer; Neurosurgery; Nursing; Spiritual care; Vignette study.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethics Approval: Ethical approval for this study was waived by the ethics committee at the Johannes Kepler University Linz (1139/2022).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Initial Mapping of Themes
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Generated Themes
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Referrals to other multi-disciplinary team members
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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