Considering the human being as a unit composed of body, mind and spirit, it is important that nurses evaluate the need for spiritual intervention. This study aims to describe the understanding of nurses about the meaning of spirituality and religiosity at a hospital. This is an exploratory and qualitative research that was carried out with 17 nurses. Data were collected through semistructured interview and analyzed using content analysis. Results show that nurses identify the particularities involved in the concepts of spirituality and religiosity and recognize the link between them. The applicability of these terms in nurses' clinical practice is directly influenced by their own spirituality and religiosity, by their academic training and their fear of negative repercussions resulting from the direct approach of these issues with patients.
Spirituality; Religion; Nursing; Professional-patient relations