Resumo

HOOSEN, M; ROMAN, N V; MTHEMBU, T G  e  NASEER, M. Unani Tibb students' and educators' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care in education in South Africa: A mixed-methods study. Afr. J. Health Prof. Educ. (Online) [online]. 2024, vol.16, n.3, pp.2-9. ISSN 2078-5127.  https://doi.org/10.7196/ajhpe.2024.v16i3.1625.

BACKGROUND: Unani Tibb promotes holistic patient care, yet spirituality and spiritual care seem to be neglected in education. This theory-practice gap was previously highlighted in studies on Unani Tibb practitioners. The role of spirituality and spiritual care in Unani Tibb education in South Africa (SA) remains unclear OBJECTIVES: To explore Unani Tibb students' and educators' perceptions and attitudes of spirituality and spiritual care in SA METHODS: A two-stage sequential explanatory mixed-method study was conducted. Quantitative data from stage 1 was obtained using a cross-sectional descriptive study followed by in-depth interviews for the qualitative study in stage 2. Stage 1 guided the interview questions in stage 2. Descriptive data analysis was performed for the quantitative study, followed by thematic analysis for the qualitative data RESULTS: A total of 18 (90%) participants took part in the quantitative study followed by 10 participants (50%) in the qualitative study. Three study findings emerged: i) a heightened level of spiritual awareness was recorded for this cohort despite the lack of spirituality and spiritual care content in the curriculum, ii) participants viewed spiritual care as integral to Unani Tibb philosophy, education and practice and iii) formal integration of spirituality and spiritual care concepts in Unani Tibb education was identified as a necessity to ensure the integrity of the holistic approach required by the profession CONCLUSION: This study has implications across the health education sector and more specifically for Unani Tibb educators to consider the inclusion of spiritual care content in education programmes

Palavras-chave : Unani Tibb; student; educator; spirituality; spiritual care; education; mixed methods.

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