Spirituality, the essence of holistic care in long-term care facilities, finds its expression in the care of the seriously ill and dying. Regardless of their importance, spirituality, spiritual needs, and spiritual distress are often overlooked. Spiritual care can compensate for poor nursing performance, improves residents’ quality of life, and reduces staff burnout. Such care can only be provided by staff who understand their role. The answer to the research question, “How is spirituality and spiritual care perceived by staff in Slovenian long-term
care facilities?” confirmed the impact of perceptions of spirituality on perceptions of spiritual care. Data were collected in a sample of 20 long-term care facilities; exploratory factor analysis was performed and verified by confirmatory factor analysis. The standardized regression coefficient for the independent variable perception of the existential component of spirituality 0.854 is statistically significantly different from zero at p < 0.001. For the variable non-religious component of spirituality, the value of the standardized regression coefficient is - 0.025 and has no significant influence (p = 0.53) on spiritual care.
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