Integration of eastern wisdom into nursing care for hospitalized patients
Abstract
This descriptive study was conducted in 2004. The objective was to survey practices of nurses in integrating eastern wisdom in caring for hospitalized patients. The subjects were 123 registered nurses who worked in regional and general hospitals under the Ministry of Public Health. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire pertaining to practices of nurses in integrating eastern wisdom in caring for hospitalized patients developed by the researcher and comprised 30 items, categorized into 7 types of eastern wisdom. The findings revealed that the overall level of integration of eastern wisdom into nursing care for hospitalized patients was at the "occasional" level. There were 3 items under Dhamma (Buddhist sermon), religious belief and faith integrated at the "always" level. There were 6 items ranked at the "frequent" level, comprising another 5 items of Dhamma, religious belief and faith, and an item of Thai massage. While other types of eastern wisdoms, e.g., nutrition and herbs, meditation, yoga, taichi, chigong, and energy therapy were "occasionally" and "very rarely" being used in nursing by the nurses in the hospitals. The results of the study also revealed that most nurses were aware of the benefits of integration of eastern wisdom into nursing practice. Hence, this study provided information for better understanding of the situation and barriers to integration of eastern wisdom in nursing practice that is beneficial for development of an extended nursing role in order to expand the scope of nursing practice to be congruent with the clients' health care needs.
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