The Impact of Nurses' Personal Religious and Spiritual Beliefs on Their Well-Being in Balancing Work-Family Conflict

Authors

  • Dr. Mary Nekesa Mudave Africa International University

Abstract

Nursing is a sensitive and stressful profession and employment of religious and spiritual coping strategies is necessary to mitigate work-family conflict. Nurses frequently navigate the tension between demanding professional responsibility and familial obligations, often leading to work-family conflict and emotional strain. This review explores how personal religious and spiritual beliefs serve as internal resources that enhance nurses’ well-being. Drawing from empirical studies, and theoretical perspectives, the paper highlights the protective role of spirituality in mitigating burnout and fostering resilience. These beliefs can provide a sense of purpose, support and reliance which can help mitigate work-family conflict. Moreover, the beliefs act as coping mechanisms, helping nurses manage the demands at work and at home. The paper presents an overview of how these beliefs foster a sense of inner peace and providing a framework for understanding and dealing with stressors due to their role in conflict resilience and emotional regulation. This enhances overall mental well-being and improve the ability to balance work and family demands. The paper demonstrates the need to have a clear policy and awareness for the healthcare staff to ensure that nurses make use of the services. The paper is important in informing healthcare facilities, churches, and Christian organizations to help nurses who are involved in this sensitive profession for better outcomes of not only quick recovery to the patients but for the well-being of the nurse’s family.

References

Brady, A. (2020, August 4). Religion vs. spirituality: The difference between them.

Cañadas, G. R., Albendín-García, L., & De la Fuente-Solana, E. I. (2018). Prevalence of

burnout syndrome in oncology nursing: A meta-analytic study. Psycho-Oncology,

27(5), 1426–1433. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4632

Clark, S. C. (2000), Work/family border theory: A new theory of work/family balance,

Human Relations, Vol.53, No. 6, pp. 747-770.

Dilmaghani, R. B., Armoon, B., & Moghaddam, L. (2022). Work-family conflict and

the professional quality of life and their sociodemographic characteristics among

nurses: A cross-sectional study in Tehran, Iran. BMC Nursing, 21, Article 289.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-01069-9

El Keshky, M. E. S., & Sarour, E. O. (2024). The relationships between work-family conflict

and life satisfaction and happiness among nurses: A moderated mediation model of

gratitude and self-compassion. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, Article 1340074.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1340074

Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1986). Stress processes and depressive symptomatology.

Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(2), 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-843x.95.2.107

Harris, S., & Tao, H. (2022). The impact of US nurses’ personal religious and spiritual beliefs

on their mental well-being and burnout: A path analysis. Journal of Religion and

Health, 61(5), 1772–1791. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01203-y

Hobfoll, S. E. (1988). The Ecology of Stress. Washington, DC: Hemisphere.

Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing

stress. American Psychologist,44, 513–524. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.44.3.513

Hobfoll, S. E. (2001). The inuence of culture, community, and the nested-self in the

stress process: Advancing conservation of resources theory. Applied Psychology,50,

337–421. doi:10.1111/1464-0597.00062

Kelly, L. (2020). Burnout, compassion fatigue, and secondary trauma in nurses: Recognizing

the occupational phenomenon and personal consequences of caregiving. Critical Care

Nursing Quarterly, 43(1), 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1097/CNQ.0000000000000293

Láng, A. (2013). Impact of attachment to God and religious coping on life satisfaction.

Orvosi Hetilap, 154(46), 1843–1847. https://doi.org/10.1556/oh.2013.29751

Liberman, T., Kozikowski, A., Carney, M., Kline, M., Axelrud, A., Ofer, A., Rossetti, M.,

& Pekmezaris, R. (2020). Knowledge, attitudes, and interactions with chaplains and nursing staff outcomes: A survey study. Journal of Religion and Health, 59(5), 2308–2322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-020-01037-0

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2019). Taking action against

clinician burnout: A systems approach to professional well-being. The National

Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25521

Olorunfemi, O., Agbaje, O. C., Abiodun, O. O., Ayeni, B. A., & Osunde, R. N. (2024).

Understanding the roles of religion in nursing practice as a prescriptive instrument for

high-quality faith-based healthcare. Amrita Journal of Medicine, 20(4), 144–148.

https://doi.org/10.4103/AMJM.AMJM_25_24

Palmer Kelly, E., Hyer, M., Payne, N., & Pawlik, T. M. (2019). A mixed-methods approach

to understanding the role of religion and spirituality in healthcare provider well-being.

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, 12(4), 487–493.

https://doi.org/10.1037/rel0000297

Pargament K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping. Theory, research,

practice. Guilford Press.

Pargament, K. I. (2001). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice.

Guilford Press.

Pargament, K. I. (2011). Religion and coping: The current state of knowledge. In S. Folkman

(Ed.), The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (pp. 269–288). Oxford

University Press

Raffenaud, A., Unruh, L., Fottler, M., Liu, A. X., & Andrews, D. (2020). A comparative analysis

of work-family conflict among staff, managerial, and executive nurses. Nursing Outlook,

68(2), 231–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2019.08.003

Ref Putri, D. T. M., Hijrianti, U. R., & Syafitri, D. U. (2024). Social support and self-

compassion: Their influence on work-family conflict among mothers employed as nurses.

Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi Terapan, 12(2), 127–132. https://doi.org/10.22219/jipt.v12i2.28660

Sarazine, J., Heitschmidt, M., Vondracek, H., Sarris, S., Marcincowski, N., & Kleinpell, R.

(2020). Mindfulness workshops effects on nurses' burnout, stress, and mindfulness skills.

Holistic Nursing Practice, 35(1), 10–18. https://doi.org/10.1097/HNP.0000000000000378

Southard, M. E. (2020). Spirituality: The missing link for holistic health care. Journal of

Holistic Nursing, 38(1), 4–7. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898010119880361

Stein, C. H., Hoffmann, E., Bonar, E. E., Leith, J. E., Abraham, K. M., Hamill, A. C., . . .

Fogo, W. R. (2013). The United States economic crisis: Young adults’ reports of

economic pressures, financial and religious coping and psychological well-being. Journal

of Family and Economic Issues, 34(2), 200–210. https:// psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1007/s10834-012-9328-x

Tavakol, N., Tavakol, M., & Daman, S. (2025). Moral distress effects on spirituality

determinants in nurses. BMC Nursing, 24, Article 349. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03003-1

Taylor, E. J., Gober-Park, C., Schoonover-Shoffner, K., Mamier, I., Somaiya, C. K., & Bahjri,

K. (2019). Nurse religiosity and spiritual care: An online survey. Clinical Nursing

Research, 28(5), 636–652. https://doi.org/10.1177/1054773817725869

Tomás, C., & Rosa, P. J. (2021). Validation of a Scale of Religious and Spiritual

Coping (RCOPE) for the Portuguese Population. Journal of Religion and Health,

60, 3510–3529. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943- 021-01248-z

Wei, C. W., Wu, Y. C., & Tung, H. H. (2020). Workplace spirituality in nursing: A systematic

review. Aging Medicine and Healthcare, 11(3), 74–81.

https://doi.org/10.33879/AMH.113.2020.01001

Yao X, Wen S, Song Z, Wang J, Shen Y and Huang X (2024) Work–family conflict categories

and support strategies for married female nurses: a latent profile analysis. Front. Public Health. 12:1324147. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1324147

Downloads

Published

2025-12-05

How to Cite

The Impact of Nurses’ Personal Religious and Spiritual Beliefs on Their Well-Being in Balancing Work-Family Conflict. (2025). Impact: Journal of Transformation, 8(2), 51-69. http://journals.aiu.ac.ke/index.php/impact/article/view/181