Holistic nursing care is typically defined to include the assessment and support of a patient's religious background to respect his/her beliefs and promote coping with illness, rehabilitation, and/or dying.
An assessment of Taiwanese hospitals reveals variation in the policies and environment supporting religious practices.
The survey of nursing executives revealed that only 40% of hospitals had any facilities for religious service or prayer and only 4% employed a chaplain or recruited volunteers to provide religious support.
Approximately 20% of hospitals did provide a room for special ceremonies, often used for rituals after patient death.
Since most people in Taiwan are polytheist rooted in Taoist, Buddhist, and Chinese ideologies, defining policies and procedures for spiritual care and creating flexible support services and facilities would significantly improve the ability of hospitals to provide more holistic care.
