Terminal illness is one of the most devastating moments of a person’s s life. Nurses witness the psychological trauma associated with terminal illness first hand and are in the position to ensure that patients receive spiritual care during this period of emotional up heave. Spiritual care and support have been shown to result in greater longevity, improved coping skills and increased hope, leading to a reduction in psychological trauma. The aim of this research is to review past literature to enable the understanding of the nurse’s role in spiritual care towards reduction of psychological trauma in terminal illness. The study utilized literature review of web-based articles and journals using multiple databases. Following the literature search, eight articles met the inclusion criteria and were selected. The result was summarized in two main categories, nurses’ role in spiritual care, and nurses’ role in the use of spiritual care towards reduction of psychological trauma in terminal illness. The study concluded that for effectiveness of spiritual care towards reduction of psychological trauma, the nurse must be knowledgeable and understand her role in administering spiritual care. As spiritual care helps the patient connect to the world, in the mist of hopelessness, which enhances feeling of sense of purpose and reduces caregiver stress.
Keywords: Nurses, Trauma, psychological trauma, spiritual care, terminal illness
